The M a s s e s :: Spill v2
by Etsuuko
Summary: The second volume to "The M a s s e s :: Silence v1 . 3 deadly regalia. 3 stupid country bumpkins. What does this add up to, exactly? A whole lot of emotion, not only for them, but the world of AT's itself. Better summary inside, as always.
1. Summarizing Silence & Disclaimers

**_Summary:_** Three Osakan Storm Riders are about to get a big suprise when they discover that they are the 3 Masses; the only three people chosen to wear the 3 silent regalia. With such power comes such pain, but who knew the hearts of a few teenagers could get torn in so many different ways? Read now, about how the world of ATs not only changes the life of 3 country idiots, but how it alters the lives of everyone who dares to call themself a Storm Rider. Canons? Check. Non-Mary/Gary-sue OC's? Check. Unexpected twists and drops? This is one hell of a roller coaster for those who seek to play with their emotions.

**_Warnings:_** Characters will die. Characters will break up one another after getting together (no couple is garunteed permanent)

If you're into that predictable sht, get the hell outta here!

**LINK TO BOOK ONE IS ON MY PROFILE PAGE!! PLEASE READ BOOK ONE FIRST. DUH.**

--

**_In the last installment: SPOILERS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T READ BOOK ONE_**

_We were introduced to A-rank team members, known together as Osaka's "Elvenride", however, despite their hopes in easily dominating Tokyo, they realized that Osaka's AT world was waaay beneath the AT world of F-class of the big city.  
In an F-class parts war, das, Elvenride surrenders due to a reality check delvered by Agito, king of the Bloody Road._

In witness to this ridiculous race was Simca, of Genesis and Spitfire, King of the Flame.  
Even though Elvenride looked silly, Spitfire's regalia responded to when one of the members jumped over 50 meters, easily surpassing the record of 34, made by Sora, the old Sky King.  
Little did Spitfire know that he had stolen the heart of Sakanako, the member who had triggered the response in his regalia.

_That night, Sakanako researched Spitfire online and tracked him down, meeting up with him at his nihtly training spot.  
He told her to meet up with him on the railroad the next day, and to bring all the members of Elvenride, plus Agito.  
Though he didn't want to go, Agito was forced to attend by Sakanako with the help of Ikki, leader of Kogarasumaru._

_There were four Kings there in total, Spitfire, Mizune, Hikari, and Agito.  
Elvenride underwent some tests and Spitfire's suspicions proved to be right. 3 of the 5 members of Elvenride, Izumi, Naodan and Sakanako, were all proven to be the masters of the 3 silent regalia; they're label, The 3 Masses.  
Then Agito was forced by Spitfire to teach the idiots how to use their regalia._

_Following the path of the 3 Masses makes Spitfire pay the price of advancing past the Kingsl who knows what the top of tropaeium holds for him._

_As time passed, Sakanako and Spitfire grew a bond to one another and decided to start dating, however, Spitfire wasn't the only one becoming attached to her.  
Akito, alter ego of Agito, was also becoming slightly interested in Sakanako, while Agito himself became pretty close to her as well, though their bond is merely friendship, according to both of them._

_However, this move pissed off Spitfire, because Sakanako was becoming a little too close to Agito; enough to make Spitfire feel neglected._

_It caused him to go to desperate measures..._

--

This fanfiction was originally written BY HAND by Jessica Skidmore (me) and Brittany Blackburn in the form of a roleplay. All made up characters were created either by Brittany or myself giving no one any right to steal them. You have been warned.

Air Gear is copyright to Oh!Great, as well as all of its original characters.  
This fanfiction does not reflect the opinion of Oh!Great or any other company associated with the original Air Gear.

Some parts of the online version may differ from the original handwritten version due to gramatical errors and mistakes that I have either corrected or changed.

This fanfiction has been rated T for profanity (Agito), sexual content, nudity, violence, occasional disturbing imagery, gang related activities, drugs & alchohol, and other suggestive themes. There might be times when I put a "" by a chapter, meaning that chapter is rated MATURE. Those chapters are a little graphic.

I hope you guys enjoy this fanfiction; it already has a lot of fans locally, so I figured that I'd post it online. Yes, there are made up characters throughout it, but don't worry:** I've made sure that they are all unique and interesting, and fun to read. They are all relatable, and shouldn't piss you off. **Ofcourse, there will always be that character you don't like, according to your taste in characters, but I've made sure that even they have their own strong points and flaws.  
Like the anime/manga, the pairings will remain a mystery until the end. You'll just have to cheer for whoever you want to go with who. It's possible to be an OCxCanon, OCxOC, CanonXCanon, Yaoi, Yuri... just about anything could happen.

Well anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it-- Now I present to you, "The M a s s e s : Spill (v2)"!! (Currently, the hand written roleplay is approximately 3 one subject notebooks long, so you can expect about that much to read.)


	2. Secret Admirer

Standing on the arch of Fubuki Gate was Spitfire; the grass of the temple ruins were blackened, each blade dry and like paper to the touch. The wind whistled like a reed instrument, and the sky above him was spread over with silver clouds, like peanut butter on a slice of bread.  
Today was the day.  
Agito would arrive in approximately 20 minutes and the air was humid. It was hard to breathe, and his regalia would only make it more agonizing to his foe. Suffocating, choking…  
Spitfire had defeated few storm riders using these methods, and unless Agito would give up (which he knew was unlikely to happen), the Fang King was in for a scorching and gasping ride.

His gaze wandered towards the dead forest behind Fubuki Tower, and thoughts streamed through his head, '_We should fight in a room with nothing for him to cut. I could burn those hooks that he uses, n' he's practically useless…_'  
He sighed through his nostrils and then folded his hands and arms,  
'_I'm doing this for Sakanako. For Sakanako…_'

But really, he had been doubting his choice.

If he lost this battle, he lost his road and regalia. That frightened him.  
'_Relax Spitfire. Is nothing to worry about; remember, you melt the wings of the Icaruses of the world,_'  
He could see someone arriving in the distance and he smiled, "Here we go…" he ushered himself.

From the distance neared a figure, but as it grew closer, it was very apparent that it was not Agito who glided casually ahead. Replacing Agito's usual petite figure, was a far more feminine one, with soft curves that Agito definitely lacked; It was none other than Naodan.

She skated calmly, wisps of her hair adorning her ale cheeks, and her gaze was focused to the ground concentrating, "Spitfire," she called, when she came within earshot of him, while her hand lightly stroked the air in attempt of a wave. This caused her to wobble a bit.  
The male's head turned in acknowledgement and he frowned a bit when he took notice to the fact that it was not Agito he was looking at, "Naodan? What could jyou possibly want with me at this hour?" he questioned her, before spurring on his skates and landing beneath the arch.

"Are you his messenger? Did he give up? Or could it possibly be about Sakanako?"  
He rolled towards her, expectantly.

Naodan's smile wavered a bit, until it met an equilibrium and finally fixated upon a small scowl,  
"No, he's just not coming. He's constipated, and wondered if he could rematch…" she liked, when, in reality, she had simply stolen the Wanijima's alarm clock, "But, I'm here to tell you something…"  
Very casually, she straightened her stature, like she was about to give a speech,

"Spitfire…do you really love Sakanako?" she began, her eyes meeting his gaze, pleadingly.

One of his hands slid into his pocket and the other one scratched the back of his neck, "Ofcourse I do." he answered her. Then he smiled, "Cos he's constipated? That's an odd reason to reschedule a match; I've never heard that one before."  


He hadn't caught on to Naodan's serious aura yet, but then he noticed her expression. He had seen those eyes before.  
Many, many, times.  
The eyes of a girl pleading him to love her.

Though he knew the answer, he made sure he was correct, "Why would djyou ask something like that?"

Naodan looked to the floor and sighed quietly, '_Alright. Let's go, Nao._'  
"I love you, Spitfire. But… you've never even looked twice at me, have you?" She then laughed quietly, the sound silvery, short, and very sarcastic,  
"I guess that means…you won't… even _**consider**_ me,…will you?"

'_Very straight-forward. Even if he does…_'

Before she could finish her own thought, her confidence crumbled, and she bit her lip, anxiously.

'…_please…_'

* * *

'_Agito…Agito, wake up. The match—you're supposed to be there,_' Akito cooed, annoyingly, in the bot's head, '_Don't make me hit you!_' he teased, with a giggle, raising the boy's left hand, the hand that he could control, no matter who was in dominance, threateningly above Agito's head.

Agito remained ultimately silent for a moment, the grunted quietly. He rolled over, and pulled the blanket over his shoulder. This meant, Akito's arm was beneath him, and left the alter ego threat-less. "Hmm…mm.."

'_**I'm going to get those regalia of yours!!**_'  
Mid-dream sequence, Agito's thought scattered about as realization crashed upon him, and he lept out of his bed. His marine hair was messy; strands frayed about sloppily, and his eyes were fierce, though strangely exhausted in appearance.

After a thrown glance at his alarm clock, which was missing, he dressed, a bit _**too**_ quickly, and headed for the front door of Ikki's home, mumbling cuss-words all the while.  
'_My fight! My fight!!_'

'_Yep! Your fight, your fight. Gosh, Agito, that's what I've been try-ing to tell you, silly! Anyways, don't hurt yourself. If things get too hard, just give up. I know that's hard for you, but…_' Akito began to ramble.

* * *

"I can't do that to her," was Spitfire's answer. His voice was silky. His eyes met hers,  
"I'm sorry, Naodan." He swallowed some saliva that had gathered at his throat, "…but I can't do that to her."  
Then, the Flame King looked away from her. He hated the face that he knew was coming up next.

Naodan, at first, shrank away from him, holding clenched fists at her sides,  
'_C'mon, this isn't you. You always get what you want. Fight! Or be weak._' She pushed herself.

As confidence flared within her, she shot a glare at him, "But you can! I **know **you can, Please!"  
She gripped his wrists, angrily.

He was forced to look at her, and it felt like time froze. His eyes caught every little detail of the face. Her light pink eyes, her light blue hair, and the way locks of it decorred her narrow jawline, "No Nao. I couldn't cheat on her… you're her friend, aren't you?" His voice was cracking, and croaky.

It held feelings behind it; feelings of guilt, confusement, surprise, flatterment…  
A breath escaped his lips as a quiet sigh, a stalling, as he thought of what to do.

Then, suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a thought crossed his mind.

**Agito**.

A lock deep inside of him was broken, as he remembered the contentment of Sakanako with Agito on the couch. They're comfort was so disgusting. He felt his molars clenching together, as jealousy knotted at his stomach. His hands closed into fists of anger.

'_What could he have that I don't? She's so desperately intrigued by him; blowing me off and ignoring my attempts to be together with her… why can't she see how it bothers me? Is she that blind? How come everytime she leaves my house, I feel like I'm losing her? Losing to him… and what's worse is that they don't even know that they're doing it. They're too entangled with the whole "friendship" concept, that they can't realize that they have something much more than that... Why can't they realize that…_'

He lowered his head to hers, despite his earlier statement, He saw her eyes close, shortly before he closed his own,

'_Why can't they realize that they've fallen in love with each other?_'

His lips pressed against hers. He tried to picture her as Sakanako, but nothing helped. He had never felt this way before.

So rejected.

So alone.

'_I don't think she dreams of me at night the way I do… she never…_'

Their tongues tangled.


	3. A Cello and A Bee

"**NOW WE ARE PROUD TO BRING YOU STRAIGHT FROM PEACE.NOW'S STADIUM, A LIVE BATTLE OD REGALIA BABES AT FULL CLASH!! YOU COULDN'T CHOOSE TO COME TO A BETTER MATCH, M'PEEPS!"**

"I can't believe doze tickets costed us that much, Ikki. I mean, seriously, 4500 yen a person?! We spent like: … hold on…carry the 3… 3150 ten getting in here! Whoever's running the place will be a millionaire—BILLIONAIRE by the time this is over!!" Onigiri gasped. the words blubbering out of his thick lips.

Sakanako looked to Izumi, "Hey, where's Nao?" she asked, curiously. It wasn't like her to not to show up. Nao was usually the first one up, or super early.  
Ikki opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the obnoxious voice of DJ Plugman. He groaned.

"**FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T GET OUT ENOUGH, LET ME TELL IT TO YOU: THESE CHICKS ARE MEMBERS OF PEACE.NOW, THE MOST ELITE STORM RIDERS IN ALL OF JUH-PAYUHN!"**

Ikki nodded his head, "See, fatass, that's why," he added, the words stolen from his mouth.  
"Hey, shyguy, move over will ya?" Sakanako complained as she wriggled in between him and Izumi. The shyguy was Kazu, ofcourse, "Thank you…" she mumbled, sarcastically.

"**ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CAGE IS THE QUEEN OF SOUND, THE CELLO WHO WILL REALLY GIVE YOU SOME "VIBRATIONS" IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'MMA TALKING ABOUT, CADENSU HIRAI!"**

The large screen in the middle of the coliseum displayed a grown woman in her late teens or early twenties, Sakanako estimated. Her hair was a gingery brown, and was abdominal length. It was layered in a step fashion, dramatically, long in the front to short in the back; the shorter strands in the back where held in a clip.  
She was proportionally curved and her lips were coated with an indulging red lipstick.

"**AND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN IS A…10-YEAR OLD! THE KILLER BEE, YOU DON'T WANT THIS KID AFTER YOU, BUT DA-YUM, SHE IS SOOOO CUTE! IT'S PRODIGY KISUKO YUHARA!"**

Sakanako's eyes widened as the monitor displayed the image of the little girl she had toppled the other day. Side pony tail, honey blonde hair, powder pink eyes…

There was no doubt. No doubt about it,  
"Izumi, ohmygod, that's that little girl! I fell on her. She wasn't lying… ohmygod, Izumi, that's that flying regalia girl!" she exclaimed excitedly. She was bouncing up and down, her shoulder grazed Kazu's annoyingly.  
Ikki on the other hand, glanced to Ringo. He tilted his head stupidly, "So Ringo, you know who these people are so… who's gonna win?"

Buccha stood like a boulder in the background, eating a long stick of Laffy Taffy,  
"That little girl… she's not somethin' to be taken lightly. With her appearance, her opponents go easy on her," he chewed as Sakanako, Onigiri and Ikki turned their heads, listening, "Even for her team mates, it's hard to hurt her because she's a kid. A strong one, but a kid. It's all the same."

* * *

"Kisuko, listen. I'm tired of having to put up with your nonsense; I'm taking your chair, and I'm stepping up and taking authority!" Cadensu said, taking a step closer to the child who was leering hotly into the older female's eyes, "You're still a child, and you're getting into a lot of stuff you shouldn't be getting into!" she scolded.  
Kisuko threw her hands on her hips, "Traitor! Don't tell me what to do with myself! I can do what I want, who do _**you**_ think you are, anyways, my mother? I don't need you!" she barked, snarling.

"Don't talk to me like that, Kisuko! He could've hurt you, you know!"

"You're not my mom, so shut up! He wouldn't hurt me if I paid him to; I just wanted him to have sex with me!!" The 10-year old's words sliced the already tension-filled air.

"Listen to you ! You're absolutely twisted! You can't just offer yourself to people you hardly know!"  
"Yes I can!"  
"You're sick!"  
"I am not!"  
"I found some cigarette ashes in Reminal's ash tray, and I know it was you, because there was an already chewed wad of gum stuck right beside it. KISUKO, THAT'S ILLEGAL!"

Tears spilled down the corners of the child's eyes.

* * *

**"Whaaaaaat?! KISUKO'S CRYIN' LIKE A BABY! WHAT IN THE HELL IS HAPPENIN' IN THERE?!"**

The announcer was too stupid to turn on the sound.  
Onigiri blinked and then nodded to Buccha, "I can see what you mean…"

Izumi watched the screen, not faring to peel his gaze from the woman with long brown locks and blazing lips. For once, he had an innocent thought on hand: '_She's….pretty._'  
He hardly acknowledged the crying little girl, save her size,  
'…_10? I didn't even know 10 year olds could ride…'_

As he commented to himself, Ringo answered Ikki, though, even she, didn't look from the large display monitors, "My money's on Cadensu. She manipulates the sound frequencies around her and her opponent to give you one hell of a time.  
"Well, I think the little girl can throw a better punch than we think. I mean, she _has_ to be good if she made it this far and she's only 10." Kazu interrupted, throwing a glance in Ringo's direction.  
"Her regalia bare drills…hm. What _were_ they called…?" she pondered, but her voice was lost in the drunken rambles of a few idiots nearby.

Sakanako nodded her head in agreeance with Kazu, "If she's that high up…. The storm riders back in Osaka would probably worship her, or think she's some form of alien."

"**AND THE FIGHT HAS BEGUN! OH! AND ALREADY, THE KILLER BEE HAS MADE HER MOVE! SHIT, THAT HAS GOT TO HURT! LET'S SEE IF THE CELLO CAN MAKE A RECOVERY…THIS MATCH HASN'T EVEN LASTED FOR 30 SECONDS, AND THERE'S ALREADY SOME BLOOD STAINS!!"**

On Kisuko's AT's there were two large drills per skate. One at the toe, and one at the back of the heel. They could lengthen to the child's will, and there were lead sized holes at their very tips. From these holes, Kisuko could fire out thin needles, the length of a typical pinky.

Sakanako looked slyly to Ringo and then back to the screen, "My B-girl here has got it all in the bag."

""**WHAT'S THIS?! NEEDLE STORM?! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, THIS KID IS LIKE AN ARMY PACKED INTO A LITTLE KID'S BODY! THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR THE CELLO! SE'S TAKING EVERY SINGLE HIT! SHE REALLY PISSED OFF THE BEE HIVE NOW!"**

Ikki's expression twisted as he watched, "I don't see… how you could fight back to something like that.."  
"Dat's the power of the riders beyond the Kings and Grand Five. I can't even imagine picking a fight with any of them," Buccha spectated.  
Ikki's mouth wiggled. He was getting tired of Buccha's stroking of PEACE.NOW's reputation.

"**HUH?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE KID?! HER AIM SUCKS BALLS! THIS MUST BE THE AMP REGALIA'S FAULT! CADENSU'S REGALIA USES SOUND WAVES TO SCREW UP YOUR HEAD! MAKES YOU HALLUCINATE AND STUFF. POOR BEE, JUST VICTIMIZED TO THE PERFORMANCE! LOOK AT HER, SHE CAN BARELY STAND!!"**

"_Who_ has it in the bag?" Kazu muttered, betraying the subject of his own bet with his question.  
Then, he grabbed his beanie and adjusted it so he could see the screen better,  
"Hey Ikki, whatt'you think?" he called to his spiky-haired friend; a grin spread across his face.  
'_Man, this match is __**awesome**__._'  
Ringo looked to Ikki as well, expecting his reply.

Izumi, meanwhile, nudged Sakanako, his eyes wide with curiousity, "Sakanako, is there any way I can meet them after this?" he asked, voice completely serious, as there was no intended joke.  
His hand then very lightly touched her elbow as he waited for a reply to his…rather creepy question, and that small gesture made his request all the more suspicious.

But really, he was star-struck.

Ikki's eyes blazed excitedly and he boxed the air in front of him for a couple of seconds, "I wanna kick both of their asses and take their place! Both of theeeeeeeeem!"

"If you were to challenge them, you'd probably die." Buccha alerted, negatively.

Onigiri was giggling pervertedly at some strippers performing on a side stage.

Sakanako glanced to Izumi, "I'll ask Spitfire about it. I'm sure he can do something. And if he can't, I guess I'll ask Agito…" her voice trailed off as her brain slowly comprehended his question, "Wait a minute, I thought you liked Simca." she added, before glaring at him.  
Then, a pair of brown eyes belonging to Ikki glared at him, too.

"**OH NO!! IT LOOKS LIKE THE BEE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE—BUT WAIT! SHE'S UP! CAN THIS BE?! STILL MOVING?! COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE A COME BACK?!"**

The announcer frantically pressed buttons, causing the screen to zoom in on Kisuko and the stadium filled with her voice,

"**Kisuko: "I don't need you! It's people like you who—I hate you! You're not my mother, and you never will be! Don't you understand?!  
Cadensu: "No, I don't understand!"  
Kisuko: "I ran away because they lied to me! The way you do! All the fucking time!!  
Cadensu: "Kisuko!" "**

Sakanako watched the monitor, "I know how _that_ feels," she murmured.

"**OH! LOOKS LIKE THIS MATCH IS GETTING PERSONAL! WE'VE GOT A WHOLE SOAP OPERA GOIN' FOLKS, LESSEE WHAT THE HELL THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!"**

Izumi watched the small girl, and simultaneously heard Sakanako's comment. Eyes still on the screen, he ruffles her hair, lightly, "She's loud," he complained, irritantly, as the groans and screams of the girl rattled and filled his ears.

Kazu squinted his eyes as Kisuko screamed, but he breathed in exasperated excitement; the gesture condoned for the 'whoops' his friends shouted, that he would not perform.

"**OOOH! OWWWWCH! THAT WAS ONE HELL OF A KICK FROM THE CELLO TO THE BEE! OH! THE KID IS LIFTING HER FOOT… HER DRILLS ARE ON AND—WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT!?  
OH MY GOD, THIS IS GRAPHIC!!"**

Sakanako flinched but couldn't close her eyes. She found herself huffing as she watched the monitor.

Bits of bloody skin flying was displayed on the screen, and Kisuko's scream raised an octave and crescendos within the tremolo of excruciating pain.  
Her drill was sunk into her other leg, her flesh spiraling in a gory hurricane.  
She fell down, weeping, inflicted too harshly to turn off the drill.

Ikki's face wrenched and he stopped "whooping". He was speechless.

"**Kisuko: "Stop it!! STOP IT!! PleeeEEEEAAAKKKKKKKKKKKK!!"**

Then, the suffering leg was fired with her own needles, and she writhed in her own attack.  
The blood of her leg was making a shallow puddle on the floor. A circle of hospital agents came in and stopped the drill, and they picked her up. She was sobbing hysterically.

The screen went blank.

"**WELL IF THAT WASN'T A MATCH THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT ONE WAS! MY LORD! LET'S ALL PRAY FOR THE BEE! AND NOW WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST BAND HERE FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT!"**

Sakanako was silent along with everyone else in the audience.  
Slowly, the crowd started whispering again and eventually talking.  
But Sakanako couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"And this is the world of AT's…." Buccha stated, solemnly.  
"Chh." Ikki. He clenched his fists, "That girl…. That girl is 10 years old and… she could **die**."

"That was no horror movie… that incident with the drill… it really did happen. That's why it's scary," Buccha continued. Then, he sighed deeply.

Izumi was also silenced; the mental image was slowly repeating itself so he, at least, didn't feel like vomiting, "…." It's repetition helped him adjust to the memory. His irises fell to Sakanako expectantly.  
Kazu pulled his beanie off of his head in respect, and shifted uncomfortably, "Well… I guess…we should go…?" he asked, breaking the silence with his own insecurity.

Ikki's voice was low, "Yeah. Let's go home," he mumbled as he shoved his fists into his pockets.  
He began to walk out; his head hung low and leering at the crowd he was walking through.  
Majority of them were casually chatting, mimicking the past battle or cheering the rock band on stage. This is what pissed him off.  
It was also what pissed off Sakanako, who suddenly felt shaky.  
Storm Riding…  
These stupid shoes on her feet could lead her to her death.  
How could the audience all around them accept that so easily?

It didn't fail to annoy her, "Self-centered bitches," she labeled the group, quietly, as she walked.

This whole thing caused so many things to run through her head. Things she hadn't even begun to think about in the past. Now she had to think twice.  
She was one of them.

The 3 Masses. This meant she could possibly end up dead.  
'_Oh, shut up. Spitfire wouldn't let that happen._'

But even as she thought this, she knew it wasn't alot to count on.

* * *

"Kisuko!" Cadensu was chasing the stretcher desperately, her right arm extended. Her cheeks were stained with tears, "Is she going to be alright? Her leg; you can fix it, right?"

One of the medical workers glared at her in reply, "If we're lucky."  
The voice was like dry ice.

Cadensu froze in her footsteps and then she watched them ship Kisuko into the ambulance truck.  
The blanket over her leg was red with blood. Drenched in it.

The female's eyes looked to where Kisuko had fallen earlier.  
The torn bits of bright red meat...  
The puddle of scarlet blood….

Her heart throbbed with guilt.  
'_I was trying to protect you from yourself, Kisuko. I don't want you to wind up in the wrong place._'


	4. Miraged Witness

'…_!_' Through Agito's eyes, Akito could see everything. Everything between Spitfire and Naodan, '_Agito he's…what about Sakanako?! She'll be so heartbroken!!'_  
Agito, who stood a distance away, knew he should feel… obliged, and guilty, and sympathetic for poor Sakanako… but for some reason: he didn't.  
Instead, a joy raged through him. A selfish, maniacal joy.  
A snicker emerged from his gritted teeth, shone bare by a grin, and it was almost a hiss in the stale morning air,  
'_You stupid mother fucker. Caught you red handed. I __**knew**__ you were filthy. Akito, you see this?! Ahehe..'  
_Another thought struck him, along with a swelling anxiety and excitement—he was** really** excited, matter-of-fact:  
'_I have to tell…! And Akito, don't shoot your loudass mouth at me, telling me it'll hurt her.. I'm telling!'_

Then, like lightning, he spun around and shot in the direction from which he came, still grinning.  
Still beneath the arch, Naodan surged with the happiness of a victory; she conquered.

'_Aren't you her friend?_' Spitfire had asked.

'_Friends? Yeah…ofcourse. I shouldn't be doing this…' _Yet, she did. Her lips caressed his, and no guilt overcame her. Nothing bade her to stop what she was doing.

'_This is her boyfriend. __**Hers**__. You have got to stop.' _

In the midst of the moment, Spitfire's eyes opened a bit, and his pupils shrunk to the circumference of a lead when he caught a glimpse of a very happy Agito.  
Then he snapped back into reality. This picture…. Was totally wrong.  
He pulled his lips from Naodan's frantically, and freed his wrists with a finishing yank.

"Agito! Wait asshole! It's not whatchyou think!!" he shouted after him.  
Then he skated, a trail of fire following on his heels. He sped up and circled Agito, making a ring of fire to trap the other king.  
" Agito!" he snarled.

As he shouted this name, he felt shivers snake up his spine. Sakanako... she loved this boy.

Agito's grin spread as the flames dances around him, illuminating his skin to the mixed shade of light orange and his own skin color.  
"Tell me, if you want her so badly why'd you do that? You fucked up, pretty boy." He taunted, the light of the flames casting an unusual amount of heat upon him, which was, frankly, kind of annoying.  
Following a sneer of laughter, he sat idly for Spitfire to backfire nonsense at him, anxious to hear what excuse he might come up with.  
There was, of course, no comeback for him to spit at Agito and thoughts raced through his head as his right hand balled as a last resort. Anger contorted reason, and he threw a punch at Agito.  
An odd sense of happiness hugged him as he watched the other male's head lash back. He almost laughed when he broke Agito's sinister laughing with his fist.  


There was a small coat of blood caked on his knuckles from Agito's mouth.  
"Stay out of it." He advised the Fang King, darkly, before casually wiping the blood onto his over coat. "It's really none of your business, you twisted mongrel. Sakanako... She's mine, whether I'm kissing other girls or not: She's still in my web."

Agito was silenced, and his jaw was thrust in the opposing direction. His thoughts were muddled and they didn't cooperate with one another to fit into logical sense—he was happy; ridiculously happy, even. After all, he had some great dirt on Spitfire and a fight was always something to look forward to. But besides that, an antagonistic emotion overthrew his happiness: _**Anger**_**.**

Then, like a rebounding ball, his head snapped forwards again, a menacing glare on his brow, and two keen fangs bearing themselves as though he were going to shout.

His figure lurched forward, and he lept upon Spitfire, his fingernails quickly finding the pale of the bigger man's cheeks and pulling fiercely, the claws creating red indentions on Spitfire's face.  
"**DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME, YOU DICK-LICKING BASTARD!!** **I'LL KILL YOU!!**"  
Agito's eyes were burning, and his cheek was bruised and swelling by the second.

The man Agito was attacking was taken off-guard, though he probably shouldn't have. Somehow, he thought he could get away with punching the Fang King without facing any consequences, but he was dead wrong, and he realized this when the boy tackled him and scarred his face red with his claw-like fingernails. He was actually somewhat scared, though his enemy was only half of his size

His jaw clenched in fury as well and he gripped Agito's wrists and ripped his hands from his face, leaving long, horizontal and crooked blood streaks engraved on his cheeks.  
' _Kill me, will you? We'll see about that. I'll cook you alive, asshole.' _

Then the Flame King knocked his foe off of him by , at first, kicking him in the ribcage, and then when there was an opening, grabbed Agito by the ears and brutally head butted him in the forehead.  
It was so forceful that he almost regretted doing it.  
His head was "panging" and stained black and blue.  
Then, he pushed Agito down, his breath heavy. This whole situation… was it caused by jealousy?

He didn't bother to think anymore and he sunk his right AT into Agito's diaphragm.  
**"Don't move." **

His wheels began to spur, a bit of steam rising from their heel.  
**" If you give up n' get as far from Sakanako as you can," **  
Droplets of Spitfire's blood tapped onto Agito in rapid rhythm,

"I'll** let you keep your **_**wretched life."**_

He was breathing through his teeth.  
Agito, though in pain, grinned wildly up at Spitfire, a bleeding bruise of purple on his forehead greeting his foe.  
"Ha! You can't fuck my head up more than it already is!" he growled, the friction of the wheels against his skin shooting pangs of heat across that area, so much, that it would scar if kept there much longer. He began to snicker, gaining volume as the pain grew more intense, and he finally began to rapidly spiral his legs, a chorus of laughter playing all the while.  
But too quickly was his laugh cut short, as his own AT's impacted against Spitfire's leg, which held him.

He sent the man from him with one more savage kick, and jumped up. His wheels revved as soon as they touched the ground, kicking up dust that flared behind him.  
Agito raced toward Spitfire, and when he arrived a foot away, he jumped two feet from the ground. Towering over the man by a few inches, he struck the Flame King squarely on the jaw, with his very angular elbow, hoping to break what he hit.

As Spitfire's figure hunched slightly from the blow, Agito raised his leg above his opponent's back and threw his heel into it, causing the foe to fall from his balanced stance, and onto the rotten grass below.

' _I hate fighting on dirt. It's so hard to maneuver. Every time I move, I have to rev my skates to get anywhere.' _Agito complained to Akito, as he jumped from Spitfire's kicking range to avoid getting mishandled or knocked down in his moment of glory.

All the while, blood trickled down his forehead, and across the bridge of his nose, and for a split-second, it distracted him:  
The feeling of pricks, from the blood-soaked tips of his bands, across his wound…

A short groan of pain escaped Spitfire's lips and he hesitated as he wiped his chin of the blood Agito's elbow inflicted. He propped up one knee and forced his sore muscles to stand. His carmine eyes burned in anger, yet slowly, reason was overcoming his rage. His back had been pierced with one of the titanium points of Agito's ATs, specifically the one on his heel.  
Lucky for Agito, this had slowed down his nervous system and his reflexes, making Spitfire far more sluggish than usual.

As Spitfire stood there, shivering, trembling, Akito's thoughts entered Agito's conscious,  
' _Don't you think that's enough? When we get back, I'll tell Sakanako the news. I mean, look at him, he's shaking. Show some mercy.'_ He asked his alter ego politely. He figured the answer was " Fuck, NO" but sometimes he could convince the shark otherwise.  
But that was sometimes.

Meanwhile, Spitfire was thinking to himself, as well; about how he would go about with everything. How would he explain his actions to Sakanako? –He had an idea, but it made him feel guilty, thinking to lie to her face.  
At this rate, it was either he or Agito. One of them would walk away with the prize.  
And although he wanted the prize.. More than anyone else did, he knew deep down that Agito probably needed her more than he did.  
Spitfire, truth be told, didn't really need her all that much. He wasn't a psycho with no friends, and he had been in love before.

Then, he made up his mind, and turned his back to his foe.  
"You win. She's yours. You earned her." He notified, quietly, and on the verge of breaking down on the spot.

Sakanako hadn't ever "_loved_" him like she said she did. She thought he was cool, and that was about it. If she had "loved" him, she would have displayed her affections publically, the way she did with Agito.

He would've known more about her than Agito, if she had _really_ loved him.  
Yet, it still hurt him so much to let her go. She was a stranger to him, but he missed her; He missed something he never truly had.

The ring of fire around the two died to ashes when Spitfire shut off his regalia.

Akito was observing quietly.  
He, too, knew what Spitfire was thinking. He almost felt a puddle of jealousy as well, but he could restrain himself.  
'_Well then, Agito, what do we do, now? We're not going to assault him, okay? Like I said earlier, let me out; I'm better with women than you are.' _Although he thought this, he knew that it was half a lie. If he were better with women than Agito, wouldn't Spitfire be giving Sakanako to _him_ right now?

' _..That's right!' _Agito chimed, forgetting all about the regalia he wanted to claim. 'Fuck_ you, Akito. I fought for it, so I get to tell her.' _He responded simply, before skating away eagerly and making an effort to call Spitfire a "pussy", just loudly enough for him to hear.


	5. Shark Alarms

"Sakanako, listen!" Agito beckoned, now within Ikki's home and tugging at her arm to tell her the news, not a twinge of regret burdening him for potentially breaking her heart.  
"The Flaming asshole is cheating on you! He kissed that blue-haired friend of yours! I saw!" he tried to assure her, desperately, blood still stained across his forehead and nose.  
Sakanako arched a brow at him before freeing her arm from his grasp. A small smile touched her lips before she placed her hands on his shoulders, "Funny…" she responded.  
Then, she noticed his forehead, and licked her index and middle fingers before rubbing them against his wound, "Awww. Poor baby. Did you get mad at Akito?" she asked casually. Her fingers smelt like iron, and they were smeared with his dried blood, "Ouch. You need to be gentle with yourself…" she warned, ignoring his earlier stated announcement.

When she realized her method wasn't working, she turned around, "Let me go find a bandaid," she looked over her shoulder, "By the way, if you have a crush on me, you could just tell me instead of lying your face off to break me up with my boyfriend… I'm flattered, but really…" the female began to walk towards the bathroom to fetch the desired item.

Agito looked bewildered.  
A crush? On her? Never.

He walked after her, his voice becoming sharper as he spoke and his anger accumulated all the while,  
"I'm not lying! He kissed the "Nao" girl! Why the hell do you think she didn't show up for the battle?!" he urged. His temper was causing him to stumble upon his words, clumsily.

Or, that's what he was _**sure**_ it was, for if it wasn't his temper, than why was he babbling, anyway?  
He could see that she wasn't paying attention, or didn't believe him. Both of which would piss him off equally.

Two hands seized her elbows and spun her around to meet the frustrated glare of two predator-like eyes. They stared as seriously as he could manage under his circumstantial anger, and he finally spoke, a pace slower than usual, that cleared his throat of a fraction of his raspiness:

"He tried to beat the shit out of me, Sakanako—I swear on my fucking life that he cheated on you."  
'_If she doesn't take my word, I'm gonna get that asshole to tell her, himself,'_ Agito vowed, quietly, or, mentally, rather, as his focus was fixated only on Sakanako's green optic and the concealed match beneath the dark bangs of her hair.

'_That's easier said than done. I doubt we could get him to confess that to her… who would? I mean in that situation, anyways…'_ Akito replied, though the earlier statement wasn't really directed to him. He could see Sakanako's left eye shatter when Agito became serious. He felt guilty.

He felt guilty for something he didn't do.

Sakanako exhaled silently, before her eye strayed from his. It was possible that he was lying to her, but she sensed nothing foreshadowing a false alarm. Her voice leaked seriously from her lips,

"I'll ask him about it…" her syllables trailed and she took a step back from him, "…thanks."

Then, she headed to the bathroom for the bandage, something to distract her from the heavy paranoia that hung in a dense cloud within her chest.  
Naodan and Spitfire….they wouldn't do that to her.

Would they?

Akito was becoming restless inside, '_Agito! Let me out NOW! Okay? I'm coming out!'_ His left hand raised and gripped the eyepatch, and concealed his right eye with it.  
_'Hell no!'_ Agito rebuked, the right hand seizing the eyepatch once more and ripping it from the right and, again, pulling it over his left.

"…No." he repeated as his hand stayed compressed against the eyepatch, condemning Akito to a mental state.

An anger contorted his expression that was intended to be serious. He wasn't satisfied. This hunger dwelling within him wasn't yearning for food, but for something he couldn't identify. He'd won the challenge, and kicked Spitfire's ass, and… he'd won _**her**_ too. Despite this, he wasn't happy.

If Spitfire was supposedly out of the picture, then why the hell was he still able to stand in his way?

He shook his head, hoping to shake this feeling.  
Spitfire _**couldn't **_be in his way, because there was nothing to stand in the way of.  
Who cared if Sakanako still loved Spitfire, anyway? It wasn't any of the Fang King's concern, was it?

'…' he wanted to think: '_Why the hell would he give her to me? I don't want her.'_ But couldn't.

'_**Why??**__'_ he thought, glowering ahead of himself.

Finally, he released a temperamental, frustrated sigh.

"It doesn't even matter."


	6. Dumped

"I'm sorry, Sakanako, but we have to end this…I just, never felt that way about you…."

Spitfire's voice, telling her this now… it was too much for her to bear.  
She didn't understand why now he had brought her out to the bridge where he trained, only to crush her heart. To penetrate its frail barriers.

"Wh-what do you mean…?" she asked him, before her mind frantically scowered for something to tell him. Something that would keep him from leaving her.  
He looked like a stone, and his expression was cold; but she couldn't see the ruthless pain that constricted him inside.

Lying to her like this.  
Hurting her and abandoning her.  
He still loved her, but it was because of this, he couldn't stand to have her any longer.  
He couldn't bring himself to keep her caged. He wasn't selfish enough.

"I'm in love with Naodan. I was only with you so I could advance past the kings; and now, I have someone who's a little more useful, and not quite as annoying," as he spoke these words, his heart wrenched and ripped away from its arteries, as he saw her break.

Tears poured from her eyes.  
He could see her fighting them.  
Her tears, but there was no barrier of stubbornness to hold her flood of pain.

"You used me? You never even cared about me?" she echoed him, praying she had misheard.  
His silence made her hold her breath.  
She knew where this was going, and she grabbed Spitfire's arm, exasperating every detail of the moment, "You're lying! You did love me! At least for a while!!" she begged him.

His gaze sauntered away, and she knew she had lost him,  
"You said you were just as curious about me as I was about you—you said that you wanted to get to know me, and to be my—Spitfire—listen to me! **LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!**" she snarled at him.

The carmine of his irises locked with hers briefly, and then looked away again.  
This was… for the best. He was doing this for her own happiness, and he had made up his mind.  
His hand slipped into one of his jacket's pockets as he felt her words impale him.  
Nailing him to the cross he had created for himself.

"You **lied** to me?! YOU'RE SAYING ALL THIS TIME THAT YOU WERE PLAYING WITH ME—LIKE I'M SOME SORT OF TEMPORARY _**TOY**_?! DID I JUST GET OLD?! I CAN'T _**BELIEVE**_ THAT I FELL FOR THAT _**STUPID**_ CURIOUSITY GIG; YOU NEVER EVEN GAVE A DAMN ABOUT ME, DID YOU, SPITFIRE?!"

He couldn't take anymore. His hand forcefully pushed the crown necklace into her grasp.

"There's another king for you. Waiting." he told her, as untarnished as he could manage, and turned his back, before he somewhat hurriedly walked away.

For if he were to stay with her, and tell her how he really felt…  
she would have seen the tears running down his long, diamond-cut face.


	7. Guilt of Betrayal

It was lunch time. On the roof.  
She had been silent all day. Sakanako.

She was curled up near the railing of the building, sulking. Everything was locked tightly inside of her, and no more tears were shed.  
Her crown rested upon her breast, unwanted.

Ikki and the others hadn't said anything to her. It wasn't like they hadn't tried, but the onl person she had said anything to was Naodan.  
Her feelings had been summarized into one simple sentence:

"I can't believe you." And that was all she needed.

Ikki looked over his circle and whispered, "Okay, so what happened with Sakanako?" he questioned, vaguely, particularly staring at Izumi, Naodan and Agito. They out of them all were sure to know why the fish had become a moping vegetable, "I mean, she's not talking and she won't eat. Is she anorexic or something?"

Buccha and shook his head in response, proclaiming his cluelessness as well as Onigiri, who shrugged stupidly, dismissing the question.  
Ikki groaned, and folded his hands behind his head, "And what happened to Kisuko's leg? Anyone heard anything about it?" he hated how dark today's aura seemed.

The 3 pinpointed spectators to Ikki's rambling remained silent for three very different reasons:

Izumi didn't have a clue, but wanted to be a good friend so he pretended to know.  
Agito wasn't paying enough attention to Ikki to really listen, and Naodan was undergoing some guilt issues.

Rocket-dog was the first to speak, "…Kisuko? Not a word. But I really want to meet her."  
"So you can get your regalia stolen?" interjected Agito, who just couldn't help himself.  
"_**No.**_ So I can… meet her friend." Izumi pouted, eyes wandering to Sakanako after he spoke,  
"Hey, Sakanako! C'mere, will ya'?

The girl he was calling didn't reply. She instead stood up and began to head downstairs.

The usual elementary school skipping speck made her appearance in the distance, hobbling on crutches and inaudibly whining about her condition.  
Izumi, somehow, noticed this small figure. He looked, hurriedly, after Sakanako, or, more reasonably, the stairs, "Sakanako!" he called, following her down the stairs, attempting to fool his audience into believing it was Sakanako he wanted to speak with.

Once out of the group's range, he sat down on the stairs to put on his regalia, which he carried in a duffle bag, so Agito wouldn't take them.  
"Hey, your b-- your friend Wanijima wants your attention, you know? He hasn't been able to pay attention to anything but you all day,… but, he'd probably deny it if you asked him. You should talk to him a little. Bye." Izumi advised, before going back on the roof.

At first, he was going to try sneaking away but… skating through a non vacant school wasn't very smart, and it would be easier just to leave from the roof. There was gust of air and a squeal of regalia before the boy was gone, and a speck in the distance, beside the crippled dot.

Sakanako caught hold of what Izumi said and she hesitated as her foot touched the bottom step.  
She sighed in thought.  
Why would Agito care? Was he actually her friend?  
She hadn't really expected him to open up to her.

This thought brought a smile to her lips. She gripped the strap of her backpack ask she skewered her mind in attempt at organization, '_Maybe… I __**should**__ talk to him. To let him know what's up._'  
She made her way to the stairs before cupping her hand around her mouth and calling out to the circle, "Sharky. You're coming with me after school, 'kay?" she was almost smiling.

Ikki's attention was brought to Agito immediately. His right eyebrow raised and he crossed his arms suspiciously before Sakanako went down the stairs. His eyes gazed shiftily to the Wanijima and his voice slipped out, "….you lucky son of a bitch." He was grinning.  
It caused Onigiri to sneer and add, "Ooooh! Looks like someone's gettin' some later today!" he gripped his stomach before snickering louder.

Buccha hadn't said anything, but his eyes watched the staircase, "I think it's got somethin' to do with Spitfire. Did they break up?"  
Onigiri was still bellowing with laughter, "So she's moved on to the rebound kid?! That's priceless!"  
Ikki joined in laughing as well, but Buccha was staring seriously at Naodan,

"Am I right?"

Though the crow and riceball were buzzing obnoxiously with laughter, an immodest silence haunted the female's mind. She glanced to Buccha with round eyes that held within them, guilt,  
"…Something like that.," she mumbled, her voice strained and unable to admit the whole truth that she was sure everyone had guessed.

'_**I can't believe you.**_' she'd said.

Naodan cringed, and her eyes squinted, for another wave of sharp guilt crushed her, this gesture creating tiny folds across the bridge of her nose, "…I'm gonna get to class early," she smoothed her expression, "See you."  
Her voice wasn't as musical as the normal, but she managed a catty smile, and left the group of boys to themselves.

"Yeah, Agito. Lucky. Not every day that you, of all people, get a babe." Kazu pouted, his voice holding an edge to it that seemed like jealousy.

"None of you idiots know what the hell you're talking about." Agito, ofcourse.  
"But…did a babe not just ask you out afterschool…**alone**?" Kazu blinked, playing off innocence by arching both of his eyebrows upwards, quizzically.  
"Shut the hell up!" was the roared response.

Kazu laughed lightly, and even Agito couldn't resist the muscles in his cheeks pulling a half-smile on his expression.

Even if Spitfire broke up with her, she'd talk to him?

He couldn't resist, either, the pleasure that her proposal inticed.


	8. The Dog Who Follows

"….Kisuko?" Izumi proposed, awkward that there wasn't something more formal to call her, considering that they were only meeting just now.  
The child glanced up to him, and she smiled, despite her irritation with her crutches.  
She swept some of her hair over her left shoulder before she greeted him, "Oh. Hi."

She fixed her posture; she was trying to impress this teenager, the way children often did to be accepted. It was a little difficult to look righteous on crutches, but somehow, she managed,  
"So uhm," she began, nervously, still struck with awe at his grown-upness. It was something she yearned for. To be a teenager, that is, "I don't think I know you…" she was timid. What could this teenager want with her?  
"Uh, no. Ya' don't," Izumi chuckled, awkwardly, a hick accent arising and touching his voice on the "ya"  
"But to be honest, I really wanted…. Uh, no. I… wanted to meet you after I watched your battle." He admitted, smiling as an embarrassment overtook him.

'_Don't say stupid things to a stranger._' He could remember his mom telling him, once upon a time.  
"Anyway, why're you out and about during school?" he blurted, changing the subject as a finger gripped his leather dog collar that had become his trademark over the years. The sound of a metal tag jingling danced in the air about them as he watched her, just as nervously.

Kisuko found it strange for him to want to meet the loser of the match, but she was flattered, nonetheless, "Well, at this time I usually meet up with PEACE.NOW, but today they're not meeting… so I guess I have some time to kill." Her crutches tapped the floor lightly as she hobbled forwards, "So… what's your name?" she questioned him innocently, before she stopped limping. Her arms hurt.  
"Do you belong to a team? What rank are you?" she leaned on which ever crutch was closest to her, "It makes me feel bad if the conversation is all about me…" she explained.

When she adjusted her stance, a box of cigarettes fell out of her school uniform's pocket.  
She gulped. Before trying to steal his attention away from the incident, "What did you think of the match?" her good foot swept the box beneath a couple of nearby shrubs. She prayed he hadn't seen it.

On the contrary, he did.  
But he wasn't one to criticize a stranger, especially one he had been wanting to meet,  
"Uh—yeah. I'm Izumi Watanabe of Elvenride—the G-class team from Osaka. We're actually good, I promise..." he chimed, pushing his hand into his pocket while leaning forward to pick up her cigs with his free hand, "The match was….gruesome. Aheh. I didn't expect… it to be like that," he answered, weighing the box in his hand.

As he handed the box to her, he shrugged slightly, "I never smoked or had sex when I was young…" he mumbled, still smiling assuredly.  
'_Criticizing strangers…_'

"But that woman you fought with was your friend….No. Nevermind. You think you're gonna go home, now?" he blubbered, cluelessly, trying to change the subject. There was no hope for meeting Cadensu.

"I guess so. There's nothing better to do. My boyfriend broke up with me after I was beaten by Cadensu. He didn't want to pay my medical bill." Kisuko replied, before looking away from the older boy, "If you're Izumi, that means you own the Rocket Regalia. Spitfire told me and Remmy about it. Oh, Remmy's the leader of PEACE.NOW, by the way," she finished, her voice quiet and almost saddening.

"I can't believe a bunch of country people are the 3 Masses. I thought the silent regalia would never see their masters; you guys were lucky you just happened to all three be friends." She slipped one of her crutches beneath her arm and then the other before she began to leave, "You might want to watch your back though, I heard that the Regalia Collector is making her rounds. She almost stole Remmy's. Bye."

Thwap, thwap, thwap.  
Then she stopped moving and whimpered about her arms.

Izumi cocked one brow upward, an amused smile pressed upon his lips.  
He grabbed one of the cigarettes from the box she'd forgotten to notice, or intentionally not taken, and placed it between his lips. A bitter taste monopolized his mouth and he cringed,

"You know: You are quite an amazing woman, Kisuko. See you around."


	9. Women Are Like Crepes

"It took you long enough to show up,"

Her voice was slightly irregular, and she stood in the courtyard, hipshot. He hadn't witnessed Ikki, Kazu and Onigiri's "while having sex, make sure you yadahyadah blahblah" peptalk, a presentation that, in total, lasted a good 20 minutes, 30, counting Agito's denial interruptions.  
She cracked a small smile and stepped forth, "I was thinking about going to the park and getting one of those…what-are-they-called's….Creeps? Fraps?"

"Crepes." Agito mumbled, his usual glare softened to the slightest fraction. His bag was slung over his shoulder and he was still in his uniform, which bothered him, "Why the hell would you want to go somewhere so stupid? You're like a little kid." He snapped, hoping to be offensive.  
Despite his last comment, he began to walk in the direction of the park, a small scowl upon his lips,  
"So…, decide to break out of your all-day vow of silence?" he proposed, casually.

Sakanako struggled for an answer.  
She avoided his eyes as an emotion portraying annoyance swept over her face,  
"If you wanna call it that, go ahead and do it," she told him, lowly, before loosening her school uniform's tie a bit, "And I wanna go because I haven't eaten a crepe before, and the look really good." as they walked through the ocean of highschoolers, they eventually reached a sidewalk.  
She was now rolling at the waist of her skirt until it was at her desired length, "Besides, I'm much better this way. You like to talk to me, right?" she questioned, in attempt at pushing a "yes" out of him.

A couple of seniors walked past the two, and they hooted and whistled when they were almost out of ear shot, "Wanijima? No way! I would've never seen _**that**_ coming."

A loud breath was released from Sakanako's lips, and she grabbed Agito's hand, yanking him a little faster, "Hurry up. You embarrass me," she explained in a lagging tone. Her thoughts were slowly leaving Spitfire, and focusing in on the present.  
Even though her earlier comment was a bit harsh, she was actually pretty pleased with what was going on, and it showed only more when her fingers tried to intertwine and lace with Agito's.

His fingers twitched away, hesitantly.  
'_What the hell?! What's she…?_'

After a moment of acknowledgement, his digits sprawled, then gripped hers securely, an expression of awkward embarrassment scrawled all over his face,  
"I'm not saying sorry. You invited me," he blurted, after he gulped back spit that had accumulated at the roof of his throat.  
He'd never held hands with anyone before.

Especially not like this.

Matching her new pace, he sighed, but it sounded more like a growl of some sort.  
"If anybody has a reason to be embarrassed it's me. Those idiots weren't shouting **your** name, were they? He teased, a small grin catching his expression as he glanced to her.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed. I **am **beautiful, after all." She flipped her hair over her shoulder.  
Agito laughed, mockingly. The sound was short and sharp, "Whatever you say."  
Her visible eye glared and her unoccupied hand was thrown overdramatically on her hip, "What? You're saying that I'm not, aren't you?! You want to go back to the Chemistry Club with Braceface and Snaggletooth?"  
"Hell no!" he growled, _**his**_ free hand balling into a fist beside him. He raised it so that it was visible to her, "If you're not going to enjoy my company, then don't ask me to come!"

"You wouldn't hit me…." she slurred, smiling slyly, "Say I'm beautiful, **SAY IT**!"

"No!" he roared, fist flattening against his side, briskly.  
"I'd never say something so fucking retarded," he snapped, as his pace caught speed and he walked ahead of her, hand still linked with hers, like a chain binding him to his embarrassment.

She followed him with an exaggerated moan, "Fiiiiiiiinnnnnne…." she sped up and matched his speed.

A crepe vender was ahead and it caused her to forget her earlier complaints, "Sharky… you have money, don't you? I don't have any… so, uhm. You have to buy me one. Or we could share, but you're too selfish to be nice like that. Stingy."  
Her eyes rolled and she freed his hand from hers with a finishing swish.  
The spaces between her fingers became obnoxiously irritant and she shook her hand to free it from the after interlace numbness that Agito's skinny fingers had created. Her palms had been sweaty.

She giggled lightly, before looking over the menu hanging on the vender.  
Little kids from Kisuko's elementary were gathering behind her and Agito and they too quietly giggled.  
They began to whisper in one another's ears about certain "processes" that they probably shouldn't have known about yet, and they didn't really mind waiting behind two "cool" teenagers.

"Is that why you ask people out after school? So you can cheat them out of their money and feed your fatass?" he continued to mock, as he retrieved a wallet from the butt-pocket of his uniform's pants.  
There was a slight "smck!" from the slap of Agito's hand against the serving counter, and beneath said palm was money equivalent to the amount of 4 crepes, rather than 2.

"Give me 4, and don't ask me what flavor because I don't give a damn," he ordered, because, really, he didn't want to go through the awkward "Q and A" between merchant and customer. He'd much rather be mean about it, and put "merchant" in the awkward position.

The man behind the counter stifled a glare at Agito, and, reluctantly, handed over the delights, keeping the change, stubbornly.  
Agito didn't notice he'd kept the change. He promptly took 3 crepes and handed the other one to Sakanako, who walked away from the vender and scoffed. Her eyebrows raised, "I thought **I **was the fatass," she muttered, incredulously, watching as Agito followed after her.

"Yeah. You are. You're fatter than me," he contradicted her, with a matter-of-fact tone.  
Within the next few seconds, he was already half-way finished with his first.  


She, on the other hand, hadn't even licked hers. Her eyes narrowed, "Bitch," she hissed at him, before plopping down on one of the park's benches.  
Her words caused the grade schoolers to gasp and giggle.  
"If you want to be **my** friend, you can't be so sensitive, Freshmeat." He scooted in on the opposite side, keeping a safe distance between their bodies. With a finishing crunch, the first crepe was gone, leaving two survivors and potential victims snugly in his hands.

She watched him dully.

"You have to realize that women's feelings are like that crepe you're holding. We melt easily… we come in all flavors," she explained, in attempt to sound poetic and somewhat intelligent; her gaze was on the chocolate treat in her hand, "…yeah. Like a crepe…." she concluded, her words having a secret meaning that were attempting to comfort her internal conflict.

"Are you really _**that**_ offended by it?" he questioned, his voice appalled, jokingly. He could not, really, be appalled at her.  
Though, she had some air of solemness to her, which was one of her many faces that he wasn't used to.

"…No." she replied, quietly, before taking a rather large bite out of her crepe, "I just thought I'd let you know," there was another crunch of the crepe's cone.  
"Well, in case you ever decide to get offended," he paused and lowered his flare to the crepes he held, "I don't really mean it, Fish." Something tempted him to take these crepes and shove them down his throat, so he wouldn't open his fatass mouth again, but he objected to this and dared to look at her for a fraction of a second.

This caused her to smirk.

"What's this? Being nice for a change?" she scooted towards him, and her shoulders tilted in his direction, slightly.  
She was almost tempted to touch his hand, but she restrained herself.  
"No. Come over to take my food, huh?" was the hissed response, which almost couldn't be heard above the cicadas and black birds that adorned the scenery. Said noise quieted after a moment.

Another crunch. His last crepe was gone.  
"Too late." He grinned at her.  
"Hmph," she answered, before crossing her arms and then shortly after, her legs as well.  
"Actually, I wanted to hold your hand," she told him. She grinned too, waiting for him to be in shocked.

And as predicted, he was thrown into a momentary shock.  
"Well, tough luck." He refused to be subjugated to this kind of teasing. Refused.  
One corporal movement, and his body was angled away from hers, unlike before.

Sakanako shrugged it off like it was nothing, "It's your loss…" her voice trailed, before she tossed the rest of her crepe in the trash. Then, she stood.  
"The sky's like…really red," she notified the obvious, but somehow, the usual oranges of the sunset seemed so much more violent and passionate.  
Cicadas began to buzz loudly, rattling the air.  
She ran slender fingers through her hair, glints of light highlights caught by the scarlet vision of the sun.

"I know this is kind of weird… but thanks. For coming, I mean." She was staring at a flock of black birds that painted the sky with their fluttering shadowy wings.

Agito scowled. That meant it was over today, then. And, as unexpected as t was, he was unsatisfied.  
Did he come to walk around and eat? No.  
He came for something more than that.  
But what was it, exactly? What was that reason?

An urgency pushed him from the bench, but once he was standing, he didn't know what to do, so he ontook a casual stance, "…Yeah. You really know how to waste my time, but it wasn't that bad."  
The red strokes of the sky painted his hair an off crown color, which was completely unreasonable; and the black birds dancing across the sky annoyed him.

This scene was all wrong to him.

"That means you want to leave," It was his turn to speak the obvious.

There was a long string of cicada cries…


	10. A Red Sky

"No… actually I…" What was she trying to say?  
And why was her heart twisting itself the way it was?

She could feel water spilling over the lines of lower lashes.  
Her lip trembled, before she closed her green eyes angrily, in hopes to black everything out.  
But the image of Spitfire couldn't be forgotten.

"A-Agito, I'm…. really sorry you have to see this…"

Suddenly, all her weight vanquished and her knees grew weak. Her legs tremored and her fists clenched,  
"… I don't deserve it. I'm sorry—I-I'm…." her sentences didn't make much sense aloud, but in her head, it all fit together perfectly.

'_I don't deserve to have someone feel the same way about me, I guess. Thanks for being here to hear this… stay my friend. Don't leave me the way he did—Don't betray me, the way she did…'  
_All of these thoughts salmoned through her thought stream, and she stifled stubborn cries.

"There's no need to turn into a fucking crybaby. I'm here, alright?" He was growling.  
His voice held no sentiment.  
The chrome of the trash-can glowed the same blood-red of the sky, and even reflected the carmine clouds that bent and folded across the surface…

'…_**he would…**__'_

As he gazed upon her trembling figure, he balled his fists, "Did you really think he loved you; a guy like him??" his voice was violent, and bitter.

'…_**never love…**_'

"…You really are some country bumpkin if you thought 'true love'," upon those words, his voice was mocking, "would walk right up to your door!"

'_**..anyone..**_'

He glowered at her, his voice calming after his last statement.  
Why was he so angry?  
It curled around every cell within him; every thread that he was composed of was ablaze with ire.  
"You shouldn't even waste your tears on a guy like him. Assholes aren't worth it!" it wasn't sympathy.

It was a command.  
If she shed one more tear for him, it'd be salt on the wound that was tearing at him; the same one that ignited his fury. Then, realization came over him, like the bomb waiting to drop, finally relieving the tension he'd been feeling.

Except, this particular bomb screeched all the way down, and he panicked,

'…_**as long as the sky was **__**blue**__**.**_'

Her unsturdy legs wavered before she took a step towards him. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but it didn't really matter to her at the moment.  
"I know I shouldn't But I-… I--!" her fingers coiled at his school uniform's shoulders. Her forehead rested upon his chest and she couldn't hold back a sob, "…I loved him!"  
"..l-love…" he muttered, as his own realization continued to crash over him:

Was it even … conceivable? Could he, the psycho, killer, alternate personality, love?  
'_Stop being a dumbass…it's an easy question, idiot. Do you love her?_' was what he thought to urge himself to move.  
To think.  
To, even, breathe.  
All of which, he was failing miserably at.

He glanced over her features, completely awe-struck. Love?  
'_Why would…. – Can I even do that?_'  
Delicate skin pressed against him.  
Each expression she made impacted him, and he felt her fingers knotted against his shoulders.  
Her dark hair concealed her cheeks; her tear stained cheeks…  
Her vows of love….

And they were all for _**him**_.

"You don't even know what you're talking about." Agito's voice was a snarl, ripping from his throat. Lashing at **her**.  
"Everytime you touched that nasty-ass skin. Every time you… you _kissed_, you didn't even realize, did you??" His own grip tightened upon the ends of her sepia hair, intricately clawing themselves in and clotting at the place. For a moment, he leered at her.

Sakanako's eyes were contorted with Spitfire. She missed him… and despite how it made his innards coil,.. _**loved**_ him. The Fang King's lips pulled back, revealing more fang than usual. He desired, more than anything at the moment, besides her, was to wipe every trace of Spitfire from her. To heal her burns.

"Did you realize that his… his kiss meant **nothing**?! It never did, and you were a fool for thinking it ever would. … Fucking idiot!"  
Something inside Sakanako was broken when he told her this. She felt a rage burn within her and she acted rashly, "Shut up! Ofcourse they meant something!" she shouted at the Wanijima.

She felt the thin wall of trust between the two of them crumble.

Most of her was agreeing with his every word, but the other part was stubborn.  
That part of her did not want to let go of Spitfire.  
Let go of what could've been.  
Even though he had torn her to pieces,…  
Deep down, she still wanted him.

In sudden recollection, Agito's words horrified her. The thought of the Flame King using her and lying… he hadn't_** really**_ lied, had he? Spitfire…no, he wouldn't. It was impossible.

"I said SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" and then there was a distinct, sting slap, from Sakanako to Agito.  
She tore herself from him, wishing to get as far away as possible,  
"Stay!! – S-STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!"  
"Don't deny the god damned truth!" he snarled, wrenching her against him.

His fingers scrawled into her hair again, pushing further than the tips, until they snatched the locks at her scalp, while his other fist spread it's digits across the small of her back and sat like an iron bar holding her against his figure.  
Her eyes radiated only fear, and his cheek stung, but something bade him permission to speak:

"I don't want to stay away."

With a brutal yank, he pulled her hair downwards, causing her jaw to dramatically turn upwards.  
She'd forget all about Spitfire. He'd make her.

After talling his neck, his lips crushed against hers, forcing them to move along with the thrust of his jaw.  
Every second he'd remember, and he'd never let her forget—even if she hated him, they'd have this.  
He loved it all:

Loved the grinding feeling of his teeth against hers, after he'd plowed through her reluctant lips with his tongue. The intermingling saliva. The feeling of monopolizing this poor girl…

It struck joy through him.

His hand, once holding the plaits of her hair, now held firmly against the back of her head, and with one final motion, he attempted to meld her to him—the palm and digits holding the small of her back shoved her even closer to him, leaving not a cranny of space between the two of them.  
She was his prisoner, now.

His brow furrowed with effort to catch her attention:

He wanted her to be here and enjoy this the way he did.  
Agito wanted her to be with him.  
A part of him.  
'_To love…__**me**__._'

His victim's balance was lost for a few seconds when he pulled her into him.  
She was completely off guard.  
Agito was—he was insane if he expected her to go along with this.

But he was too powerful to pull away from. She tried desperately to pry her lips from his, but it only allowed him to grate her lower lip with his shark-like teeth.  


A long, sticky string of saliva trailed down her chin, shimmering a salmon orange due to the sun.  
She was struggling to breathe, his tongue ruthlessly exploring the roof of her mouth and leaving a wet trail of the 3 sweet flavors of crepes he had eaten shortly before his sexual assault.

She screamed in his mouth, but it only escaped as a muffled squeak, her eyes closed as her hands raised. With one hand, she gripped the side of his head and pushed his head away from hers with all the strength her arm could muster.  
But still, he failed to give way.  
Her other hand reared back and then hit the other side of his head angrily.

This wasn't supposed to happen.  
He was… her **friend**.  
She took a step back, creating space between their bodies.

But too quickly did he bar her against him; there was no hope of escaping him.  
Not if she continued like this.

A voice whispered to him that this wasn't right, and that he needed to stop.  
But how could he do that when this feeling of dominance was so alluring? How, if this act was supposed to be wrong, did it feel so very right?

When she screamed, her breath hit the back of his throat, hot and moist.  
This almost tempted him to grin, but he only allowed one side of his mouth to twitch upwards.  
Suddenly, a hand struck his head, and any sign of amusement that was sketched across his expression vanished.

She was resisting him.

Anger and joy, both antagonizing each other, were taunting him.  
How hard did he need to hold her before she gave up?

The tips of his fingers groped the crown of her head and violently forced her lips closer to his—forced them to entangle themselves, furthermore, with his.  
A roar of laughter was reduced to an amused sneer through his nose.  
What was he laughing at? Her attempts to get away from his iron-grip.

He swore not to let her go…  
Not until she did something to amuse his desire…

The ends of his off-brown hair caressed her cheek lightly, and his tongue painted the surface of her teeth with another thick coat of crepe-flavored saliva.

When she realized she was getting nowhere with trying to get him off of her, she became a target of thoughts. All of which rushed to her head.  


Her cheeks were burning of frustration and humiliation, and rapid tear drops raced down them cooling them with their fear.

What was going to happen to her after this?

She caught a chance to say something during a rare breath opportunity,  
"Agito, --!" she began, but was silenced by another brash push of his lips against hers.  
Her heart was pounding against her breast bone and she could feel his chest thudding in syncopation to her own. Then, a thought crossed the forked road in her head, "…" her hand slowly touched his neck and she hesitated.

Could he…have loved her this whole time?  
Even when she was with Spitfire?

Her hand sent an odd sensation through him, and he shivered. It was working.  
Agito thought this an opportune time to take advantage of her opening, and pushed her against the tree that had been sitting next to the park bench.  
With the bark holding the back of every feature her body was composed of, his hands grew adventurous and found new places to hold.

One hand clutched one of her reddened cheeks.  
The feeling of wet tears, hot enough to boil, it seemed, soothed him.  
But he didn't relax.  
He couldn't.  
This was his answer.

His free hand seized her waist and thrusted it against his own. Beside's their lips, this was the only part of her pressed to him, though they lingered dangerously close to one another.  
Following another stroke of his lips against hers, his voice arose,  
"…what…?" the sound was growling, but barely above a whisper.

Sakanako's eyes opened and they stared into the golden waters of Agito's.  
One of her hands slid to his face. For a brief silence, she was taking in his intentions.  
The only sound was the drumming of her heart and the heavy pants escaping her lips.  
"Does…. _**This**_ kiss mean something…?" her question wasn't much louder.

There was a soft rustle of leaves from above them, and a few pink cherry blossoms fluttered down, tickled by the cool, evening breeze. Neither of them had taken the time to notice they were against a sakura tree.

Agito's gaze locked hers for a moment of complete silence.  
'_mean…something.'_

He released a huff and slid his hand from her cheek. He couldn't look at her anymore.  
There was a quiet shift of soil below them as Agito stepped away from her.

'_You're the Fang King. You can't love. It'll just turn to nothing but a fucked over situation. Like the rest of your shit life…. You've had your fun..'  
_He accused himself.

"Kisses don't mean anything here. You're in the world of shit-faced bastards and AT's. That meant about as much as the Flame King's kiss." His words surfed upon the cicadas'.

A breath escaped the indention of her petal-like lips, and then she pushed herself off of the tree's trunk. The back of her school uniform was scattered with bits of brown tree cark and she shook her head to cover majority of her face from him with her hair.  
She could've slapped him again, but she didn't find that it would change anything.  
She laughed, quietly, "Oh. I g-guess I should just grow up then…" she was broken.

Agito…; He hadn't helped any of it.

"Sorry. I guess I overshot you—It's my own fault."  
"You thought I could do that? The crazy, fucked-up side of Akito can love?!" he scoffed, and forced a grin on his expression.  
But it felt wrong. Nails held his expression in place.

He turned from her, and his composure shattered; The grin to a scowl.

"…Well. In case you decided to get offended… I didn't mean…that it was for nothing, Freshmeat. I don't kiss people for no fucking reason." He's meant to teach her a lesson. "Kisses mean nothing", but he'd, stupidly, fallen into his own trap.  
He wasn't going to miss his chance. He wanted her, and he'd lose if he didn't snatch her up, now.  
Agito was no fool, and knew exactly what he wanted… even if it turned out shitty.  
Even if he was an instinct who "couldn't love".

…what?

So it had meant something to him, too?  
After all this time, she had overlooked him.  
The friend she had originally been using to distract herself:

She had fallen for him.

Her arms wrapped around him from behind and her breathing became slow and paced. The softness of her breast against his shoulder blades; She shivered and then breathed his scent as another chill wind danced by.  
"….Agito…" she loved his name on her tongue, and the feel of him pulled against her.

More importantly, she loved him.

"I'm sorry, Sharky… And… thanks for everything."

"…So what do we do, now?"  
He didn't know what to think, or do.  
Never had he loved someone, or even felt much attraction to someone besides Akito.  
Fingernails lightly dug into the back of her hands, affectionately.

There was a sigh from his lips, and he glanced up at the reddening sky; the black birds were gone.  
There was a smile on her lips when she answered him.  
"I… don't know."

The cicadas finally ceased, and after a few moments of the new couple standing in place, a chorus of crickets eventually filled the air, their song of serenity floating in the deep red air.

"… I guess we go home."


	11. Recruiting the Cyclops

Sorry about how long this chapter took coming out. The written version of this chapter is really long, so I had to cut out some of the useless parts where characters are just talking about nothing. If you would like me to include those parts in this chapter, just let me know. I'll probably add them in later if you do.

* * *

A week from then.

"Hey, Masses. It looks like you got a challenge from a D-class team of Storm Riders called all together as The Rozz Empire. D-class means a cube battle, so you'll need at least 2 more members to fight for your team. That guy Spitfire volunteered to help out, and I think he's trying to talk some of the kings out of Genesis for you…but I think, if you're smart, you should try to find someone who already doesn't belong to a team so it won't make a mess of things," Mikan explained to the living room of people.

Ikki grinned weasel-ishly and then brought up the topic of helpers," I could try to hook you up with Croissant Mask, Mitsuru the Cyclops Hammer or Natsumi the Bloody Bronze Sword if you want me to. They don't have teams anymore because they were all defeated by Kogarasumaru. Oh, and there's Inuyama and let's not forget Gonzo of the Bulls."  
Sakanako stared at him, frustrated. His attempts to help out always turned into bragging and it only annoyed her more than she already was because of his heavy presence.  
Onigiri grinned and piped in. "I bet we could get the Gorgon Shell to help out, too!"

Then like lightning, a thought flashes across her mind,  
"Ikki, why are you helping us out anyways? I mean at this rate we'll catch up with you, eventually. Aren't you too selfish? ... Or do you just feel sorry for us because we suck _**that**_ bad?" Sakanako asked.

Ikki's head turned to her and his nose pointed sharply to the ceiling, "The second option ofcourse!"

Izumi rubbed the nape of his neck, and sighed quietly, "We **used** to have 5 members…" he mumbled in a pout, remembering his friends Meneko and Hasuei that had long since been discarded, "Don't you think it was wrong to leave 'em out just because they weren't one of the Masses?"  
It was directed to Sakanako, whom he had grown accustomed to whining to,

"But addressing the problem,…" he whimpered, "How about… Croissant Mask and Natsumi?"

"Obviously, you're only saying that because they're the skimpiest options," Naodan argued, voice calm and steady as she pondered, "Hey! What about the Cyclops Hammer Man? He was on a pretty good team, so he'd be a really good ally," she proposed, smiling excitedly at her idea, which Izumi made a face at.  
Ringo was quiet, but looked, almost, angry.  
'_Skimpy…! That's not my fault, and I knew it was __**revealing**__ but…Ah, face it. It is pretty skimpy…'_  
She continued to go through some metal arguments with herself.

Izumi looked up at Mikan from the floor,  
"Why do we have to use someone who's not on a team, hm? We **could** just use you or Agito if we wanted, right?" he questioned, obliviously.

Agito leered viciously at the dog for even considering him,  
"You have to have balls if you want to get involved with other team's shit… If every team could just grab any king they wanted, then they'd make it to the top in no time," he snapped, contradicting the poor boy's curiousity. He, unwillingly, glanced to Ringo, who was the prime subject for those accusations.

'_Does he… know?'_ Ringo looked hurriedly away.

Sakanako groaned at her stupid Osakan friend, "The reason Agito and Mikan can't help is because Agito belongs to Kogarasumaru and Mikan belongs to Sleeping Forest. If they helped us out, they're team would be forced to disband," she explained, dully.  
As Sakanako said this, Mikan was also eyefully watching Ringo. She was becoming more and more suspicious about it lately, so she was keeping her eyes open.

Then Sakanako remembered Izumi's question," Meneko and Hasuei were never my friends. If you wanna skate with them, you go ahead and do that."  
"Don't say that… I could never leave you," he assured her, mockingly, though it was more truthful than he would've liked.

Ringo looked nervously about the room. She regained a casual facade, and pretended to be interested in the Osakans' problem, "Croissant Mask is busy! Uh—I like the Cyclops Hammer idea."  
Sakanako crossed her arms before watching Ringo fishily, "Yeah, that's great. I guess it doesn't matter if Spitfire gets involved since he quit Genesis and all. He's a stray now." she yawned and then boredly rested her head on Agito's shoulder, "Rozz Empire, huh. What kind of name is that, anyways?" she muttered, not really expecting an answer.

Ikki pulled out his cell phone out of one of jeans' pockets, and then he skimmed through his contacts.  
He glanced to Izumi, "You should probably call him, since you're the male of the team," he assured him, handing him the cell.

Mikan's attention was taken from Ringo when she remembered her earlier announcement, "Wait a sec, how the hell do you expect to beat a D-class team when you're beneath F-class? Even with regalia… it doesn't matter if you can't even use them. One training lesson with Sabeltiger isn't enough practice, you know," she complained, her eyebrows rising expectantly.

Ikki defended Osaka, "I think they're ready! Sabeltiger put up a really good fight! We only beat them because I had to accomplish that super hard moon rider jump!" once again, his attempts at helping turned into his own cocky boasting.  
"Ya know, with that attitude, someone's probably going to knock your teeth in," Mikan alerted him, her blue eyes rolling. She shifted her weight.

"Once the Masses make it to the top of tropaeium, we're gonna kick Kogarasumaru in the balls and do everyone a favor by killing Ikki." Sakanako promised, under her breath, bearing her teeth in irritation.

It was just enough for the stuck up bastard to hear.

"If you're gonna say that then say it to my face, Fishbreath!" he yelled, immaturely.

Her head raised from Agito's angular and very uncomfortable shoulder, still in frustration,  
"Sorry, but I don't feel like speaking to your icky Ikki pothead face. So, shove it." she retorted, snappy, yet quietly.  
"You think just cuz you can make the floor fart with your regalia you're special, don't you?!"  
"Where'd you get that idea?"  
"Well! It's just frickin' obvious!" he answered, erroneously.

Sakanako gave up and she looked deadly to Agito and pointed a finger to Ikki, apathetically, "Sick him. Go get him, Sharky Baby. Go, go." she commanded, softly.

All this happened with Ikki's phone in the palm of Izumi's hand; the phone displayed the phone number of the Cyclops as well as a small picture of Mitsuru, a male with light grey hair and gleaming grey eyes. He was wearing his signature sweater.  
Ikki had put his name as "Bug Eyes" and his ringtone was "The Potion" by Ludacris.

Izumi blinked at the image and cracked a smile, "I like his sweater."  
Then, he crammed his finger upon the almost broken, green button displaying a miniature phone, and an entertaining set of blocks danced across the screen as he called.  
"Um. Hello." His voice was very formal, but surprisingly timid. Someone had picked up.  
"This is the leader of Elvenride… … … Yeah. I called to ask you a favor, Cyclops Hammer."

"Sharky Baby", meanwhile, stared at Ikki as though he were a pathetic piece of trash, "That sadass excuse for a crow isn't worth my time."

"_Um, Okay? Wait a second, what's Elvenride and why're you using Ikki Minami's phone?"  
_"The team from Osaka. I live with Ikki, and, uh, we got a challenge and we need 2 more members."  
_"…Osaka?"_ the receiver echoed.

* * *

Mitsuru pulled some strawberry banana smoothie yogurt from the refrigerator as he considered the offer, phone on his ear, "Osaka isn't exactly where good Storm Riders come from, if you understand what I'm talking about, so I may have to think about it for a while," then, he tilted the plastic bottle to his lips and gulped a bit, before a cover of AIR magazine caught his gaze.  
He picked it up and flipped through it, seeing the article of Spitfire leaving the 8 kings.

His eyes skimmed the story and then widened when Elvenride was mentioned, "Whoa, hold up, so you guys are the 3 Masses, then? You're name's Izumi, I'm guessing. Well that changes everything." he smiled and closed the booklet.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure. I'll help you out for this match."

* * *

Sakanako noodle irritantly a bit, before nudging Agito lightly with her elbow; "You're not very obedient."  
Her eyes wandered to Izumi on the phone as Ikki shouted stupid things at her and her boyfriend.

"What do you mean pathetic excuse?! I'm the next Sky King, dammit, don't overlook me!"

"_So should I come over and formally introduce myself? I'm not doing anything so if it's okay with everybody… I don't really like teaming up with a group of complete strangers, ha." _  
The phone made a proposal.  
Izumi smiled slightly, out of pure manner, and nodded, "Yeah. We're not doing anything important, and if you know where Ikki lives, well, you can find us. M'hm, all the masses are here, so… we'll see you in a bit, then.

And Izumi hung up the phone.

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to overlook your jaw with my fist, you annoying fucker." Agito suddenly hissed at Ikki, and Izumi was thankful he'd hung the phone up.  
Agito, then, shot a glance at Sakanako, "Disobedient, huh? I don't remember promising that I wouldn't be disobedient…" he replied, while grabbing the hem of her skirt, lightly. He grinned evilly at her.

"Ew." Izumi interrupted, his face dull.

Sakanako was about to snicker quietly, but Izumi's declare of "ew" ruined the heat of the flirty conversation. She leered darkly, aiming at Izumi, "Just die." She demanded, her voice monotone yet inflamed.

Ikki was still throwing a hissy fit about Agito, "Hey! No! Get off your girlfriend and say that with your fists! What is it?! You scared?!" he ranted, still erroneous to the situation.

Mikan was becoming annoyed and she pointed an accusing finger at Sakanako and Agito, "Go do that somewhere else, you horny pigeons! Not in this living room ya don't!"

"So, is Mitsuru coming over, then?" Buccha piped at random.  
Izumi's conversation was aimed at Buccha, but he sent an acidic glare in Sakanako's direction,  
"Yeah, he wants to meet the team. So, everybody… make sure you're presentable," he commanded, feeling like a leader again.

Naodan was watching Sakanako, quietly, and completely ignoring her team leader, "Tsuru, we should… go do something with her hair," she gestured to the door of the bathroom with a slight smile. Her attempts at friendship usually wound out completely futile, but she tried.

"DO YOU WANT ME TO RIP OFF THOSE ARMS OF YOURS?! I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO HOLD YOUR FUCKING FISTS TO ME!!" Agito suddenly roared at Ikki, frustrated that Minami was still bothering him, when he was, clearly, wanting to flirt.  
A fist was balled at his side, ready to pound itself into Ikki's face.

Naodan had been interrupted, and Mikan was ignored.

"The only thing un-presentable is your ugly face," Sakanako mumbled bitchily before walking towards the bathroom. She wasn't being serious with Izumi, and she knew that he knew it. She was naturally a somewhat rude person, especially to him, since he had clawed and pried his way into her life.  
She hadn't wanted him to be her friend. At that time, she hadn't wanted anybody to be her friend.

But that was in Osaka, and she was in Tokyo, now.  
In Tokyo, living with Izumi, still, and a bunch of other idiots just like him.

"There's not much I can do with my hair," she stated, before combing it down a bit with her slender fingers. Even though what she had said to Naodan was casual, there was still a tension between the two "friends" ever since the incident with Spitfire.

She could never forgive her for that, no matter how many times she said sorry.  
She hadn't apologized, and Sakanako believed that she probably never would.  
Naodan was conniving and selfish, despite her gentle and sweet appearance, and Sakanako had only been one of the many to find it out the hard way.

"Go ahead and try to rip them off, you SHRMPY SACK OF CRAP!" Ikki challenged back, before charging towards his mocker angrily.

Mikan was only fused further, "If you two—URGGH!!" then, there was a great gust of air and a brawl between Mikan and Ikki. She had ripped him up by his leg and swung him around into a couch.  
He whined out like a dog with an injured paw before laying limply upon the furniture.  
Mikan glared at Ikki, finale-ing it all, before turning to Agito ominously.

Her lips parted and the doorbell rang innocently; a bulging anger vein throbbed on her head before she stormed over to the door frame and tore it open.

Mitsuru stood, wearing a band shirt and blue jeans. He seemed to shrink away when he caught a whiff of Mikan's fury.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" she growled, oblivious to the whole 'he was invited' plan.

"I invited him," Izumi stated, daring to grab Mikan's waist in her rage, "It's alright, hun."

Agito watched Sakanako, quietly, trying to scrutinize her expression as she spoke with the traitor girl.

Naodan shook her head at the fish, "Well… a ponytail, a bun, some pigtails… well, kind-of pigtails. You couldn't really do pigtails,… and…" she began to ramble, attempting to fill the tension with talking; any talking as long as it was friendly.

But, really, she wasn't "sorry" – Not for betraying Sakanako, and not for kissing Spitfire.  
_'If you could call it that…'_ she thought, bitterly, in remembrance of said "kiss".  
If anything, she was sorry that Spitfire hadn't said a word to her since and that she had to lose a friend for a lost cause.

"What do you want to try??" her hands wound themselves around Sakanako's sepia hair, patiently waiting for an assignment.

'_We can just play it off like it didn't happen. Alright, Sakanako? I mean..you're happy, now. I'm not. Just how you like it.'_ was what she _**wanted**_ to say, '_So let's just... be normal again.'_

But she knew it, most likely, wouldn't return to the usual. Sakanako always was one to hold a grudge and had a fragile wall of trust. Things would, if ever, take time to heal.

"Sakanako, Nao! Mit-- The visitor is here." It was Izumi beckoning them.

Naodan grabbed Sakanako's wrist, persistently, "C'mon."

Sakanako felt something spark angrily inside of her when she felt the girl's small hand take her by the wrist. It was small at first, like the lick of a candle, but then her anger ignited and her eyes narrowed.  
Her hand freed from Nao's with a hard-headed pull, and then they were shoved into her hoodie pockets, hiding from further contact. She only wanted Nao to feel the tension. To realize that she wasn't going to pretend it never happened.

Not this time.


	12. Afterschool Plans

"In about 3 weeks, the junior classmen will be leaving for Kamakura. They will be gone for… about 5 days and will return on the following Monday. Will all of my juniors come forth and pick up a packet and brochure?"

Sakanako had finally learned the chemistry teacher's name: Ms. Kazega.  
"What're we gonna do there, anyways?" Sakanako questioned, as she took the packet and brochure from the woman's tiny hands.  
Ms. Kazega's small, acute shoulders shrugged, "I wouldn't know. I'm a senior classmen representative. The junior classmen counselor just dropped by and told me to pass these out to my juniors."

Sakanako nodded her head in acknowledgement and then grabbed the correct amount of brochures and packets for her lab table.  
She walked over to her destination casually and tossed the papers upon its black, polished surface.

"Hurr," she told them, in her attempt at a "gangsta" voice.  
"Apparently, we're going on a field trip to this place in 3 weeks," she explained, bluntly, before taking a seat next to her beloved Agito. "We can probably make it to A-rank in that amount of time, "she continued, overconfidently.

The nerds at Agito's original table were glowering in their direction.

"Doubt it," Agito corrected, meanly.  
He completely ignored the nerds, for he'd been better off without their irritance, and liked his new seating arrangement much better.

"Getting to the top isn't as easy as you make it sound… but maybe." Izumi commented, his irises scanning the paper in front of him dully.  
There was a gap of silence in the room that cued the students to quickly review their papers.  
Izumi's hand snatched Naodan's brochure uninterestedly, then folded it into his pocket, and in her seat sat no one to protest; she was skipping.

"…Shouldn't we take a fucking vote on where we want to go? What if I don't want to go there? It's my fucking trip, and my fucking time," Agito complained, pushing the double-sided brochure onto the floor.  
His foot pinned it there, and the paper creased at one corner, a scowl captivating his expression.

"…Hm. I like the idea of a beach. So, I have about 3 weeks to get a girlfriend. If I don't, then what fun is the beach anyways?" Izumi suddenly blurted, completely changing the subject from Agito's very trivial complaints.  
His brown eyes watched Sakanako, rather than Agito.

"You won't be able to get a girlfriend in that amount of time, trust me. Unlike me, people have to **really** get to know you before they actually like you. Then, after that, you have to try and figure out if they like you back, become confident in the signals, and **then** waste a lot of time trying to find the perfect opportunity to ask them out." Sakanako replied negatively, before petting Agito's head, in attempt at calming him, "It's okay, Baby, I think it's dead," she assured him, in reference to the crumpled brochure beneath his rather small foot.

Then, she remembered something. "Oh yeah. Me and Sharky are going to see a movie, so unless you want to accompany as a third wheel, I suggest you make your own plans." she told Izumi, praying to God that he didn't tag along.  
She pondered for things that would interest him much more than a movie, "Erm… I overheard…okay, no, I didn't. I learned that that chick you like… Cadensu, I think her name was, hangs out at the auditorium by the college a lot. There's an orchestra performance tonight, so you can probably catch her there. She's also, I learned, a vegetarian, and hydrophobic." she alerted, trying to steer him away from her and Agito's plans.

"Really? Cadensu will be there, huh? I'm not really into classical music, but… when does the performance begin?" Izumi questioned, casually resting his head in his hand; an attempt to look almost-bored antagonized how shy and embarrassed he felt.  
"And you shouldn't stalk people: it's gonna become a bad habit. I understand that you don't want me bothering you and your loser boyfriend," he muttered, bitterly.

"Wait just a fucking second. Movies? When the hell did I agree to that?" Agito suddenly interrupted, shooting a glare at Sakanako.  
Sakanako grinned cheesily at him and then her fingers tasseled his hair,  
"You agreed just now," she answered for him, before laughing cornily.  
Then, before he could complain about anything, she looked to Izumi and replied, "It starts at 6:30."

Her only reply from Izumi was a quiet mumble that was directed into the blue of his sleeve.

"What?! Hold on! Movies? At a theatre? With people?!" Agito continued to stubbornly complain,  
"I didn't agree to a fuckin' thing!"

"C'mon, pleeease? Baby, we can't stay locked in your room forever."

"And why not?!"

"Baby, please. Please?

There was a gap of silence as Agito considered, and so his audience wouldn't get bored, there were more than enough angry faces to entertain his viewers as he pondered the situation.  
Finally, he spoke.

"…Ugh. Whatever." Was the final statement that condemned him to a night of the real world.

(God forbid.)


	13. The Sound Of An Orchestra

Cadensu sat quietly on a bench near the concert hall's door. Since she had arrived late, she would be stuck here until intermission because the first piece would occupy the entire beginning half of the recital. She ran fingers through perfectly groomed chestnut colored hair, and then crossed her legs.  
Her brown eyes looked away and she released a short sigh of impatience.

Simultaneous to the woman's sigh, was a gulp that was almost too inaudible for someone of the human persuasion to hear. It originated from the boy who'd approached her.  
A tuft of light brown hair lingered flaccidly above his bay irises.

After a moment, a voice arose to break the silence, and the sounds of an orchestra accompanied his distraught speech, "Miss?" his pitch proposed that he was nervous.

His plan was to let her acknowledge him and he was to formally introduce himself, but he "jumped the gun" and mindlessly began to talk, "Uh, my name is Izumi Watanabe, and, uh, I wanted to meet you since I saw yur battle, Miss Hirai."

The tip of his fingers snagged the tag of his dog collar that clearly read, "Simca".

There was an abrupt excerpt of air that puffed in amusement from the older girl's nose, like a laugh.  
She leaned back, the bare of her shoulder blades touching the head of the bench. She was adorned in a slim, formal black dress, with diamonds upon her long neck, and dangling freely from her ear lobes.

"I've heard about you, Watanabe." A small smile touched her lips, "…and I also heard that you called Kisuko a woman. She was so excited to tell GC and Reminal…" then her smile faded, because ever since the incident in the battle, Kisuko had completely disowned her.

"She thinks you're handsome."

Izumi's hand was clutching the heart-shaped tag, desperately, in its palm.  
But as Kisuko was mentioned, he became at ease. A smile brushed his expression,  
"Really? Aheh. How's Kisuko been doin', then?" he asked, unaware that this might've been a rude topic of discussion.

"I guess you could say she's alright. She doesn't speak to me anymore…" she was beginning to wonder why she was telling him this, "…I probably shouldn't have pried myself into her life. I'm not her mother, and I've only hurt the kid."

"I don't think so. You're trying to get her on the right track, right? At least, I hope that's right, or I'll sound dumb… but… to tell you the truth…" he lowered his gaze and sat down next to her own the bench, deciding that he might as well sit down if he was going to wait, "I want to, too."

Honestly, he was glad the conversation was going so smoothly, considering he'd just met her and anticipated that he'd be tongue-tied and look completely "retarded" as Sakanako would like to say.

"And Miss Hirai… she's young. I don't know much about her, but… she might forgive. I'd like to know more about her, but I wouldn't know how to visit her."

Suddenly, her attention was grabbed, "You too?" she questioned him, before she scooted a bit towards him, intrigued by the subject's shift, "That's why I had to fight her…" there was a stretch of silence before her gaze sauntered away.

"The girl never had true parents. Her mother passed away while giving birth, leaving her father full of grief… and he was later diagnosed with cancer, which in years took his life. Her sister abandoned her after that… the only place Kisuko could go was to GC's, and she joined the world of AT's."

"…"

Izumi's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. He had no clue what to say.  
"So she lives with GC…? Isn't she… Wait a second." He paused, bewildered.  
Then, his expression softened as he pictured the girl in his mind.  
"I knew how it was without one parent… but she's had it pretty hard," he scoffed slightly, "You only hear these depressing stories when you meet city folk."

A smile touched his lips for a moment, but it was gone, just as quickly as it came. The hand which held the small, heart-shaped tag fell into his lap, at a place beside faded jeans that were not at all, suited for a concert such as this.

"Actually, I heard she left GC's because he couldn't afford keeping her; ofcourse he didn't tell that to her face, but she felt guilty. So… I really don't even know where she's living, to be honest." Cadensu answered him before she caught notice to Izumi's dog collar.

"Do you love Simca?" she questioned, abruptly switching topics.

Simca…

"You're a fan of Genesis?"

"Not really…" Izumi answered, honestly, "Actually, I barely know her… but I think she might like me a little. She's cuddled up to me a few times, so I'm hoping."  
Being the country-boy he was, he didn't assume that there were people who would flirt and not be interested. Matter-of-fact, he was somewhat naïve.  
If a girl could get that close to you... it meant something, right? There was an amused, almost mocking laugh that escaped from her red lips, "Oh, that's all? I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Simca… well, she's quite the temptress, not exactly the best person to fall in love with." Cadensu assured him. Then her eyes locked with his, and they held gazes.

"You'll… be hurt. Just forewarning."

Izumi stifled a glare.  
He wasn't expecting that, and was a little offended; anyone who saw him could tell, although he was trying to hide it. Obvious, she knew Simca. It seemed everyone was connected in the city.

Cadensu took notice to the sudden defensive behavior of the boy and it caused her to smile a bit, "There's no need to get sassy. I just thought I'd let you know."  
Then, the first half of the orchestra concert was over.

After a mass of people left the concert hall to pee or make a phone call, 3 people stepped towards the bench.  
One was a tall male wearing a tuxedo without a tie and with an unbuttoned collar. His hair was a deep purple, deathly close to a raven black; it was shaggy and it hung loosely about his neck in sexy, wavy strings. His eyes were like polished rubies, the chandelier above them hit his eyes just perfectly.  
Beside him stood a female with coal black hair and wine purple eyes. She was wearing a dress similar to Cadensu's, and her long dark hair rested cleanly at her mid-back.  
Then, there was Kisuko with her hair down and in a darling pink dress. Someone, probably the girl beside her, had done her make-up extremely well, making her look about 3 years older.  
Bits of glitter and fragrance fluttered about her as she pointed to Izumi,  
"Oh! Hi!" she exclaimed, excitedly. Her hand shook the male, "Remmy, Remmy! This is Izumi, he called me amazing!!"

Then, there was a cello-like voice that replied, "I heard."  
Reminal's eyes met Izumi's puppy-like brown ones, "…so you're the kid from Osaka."

Intimidation crawled up the country-boy's spine and tickled at the nape of his neck.

Something, after a moment of silence, made him realize that he was being spoken to, and bade him permission to speak: "Uh,-- yeah. Wow," he laughed awkwardly, but the sound was quiet, "Word gets around fast, here."

Then, his optics fell over Kisuko, and his cheeks pulled a grin across the plains of his cheeks.  
"Hey, pretty lady. I had no idea you were here. Off your crutches?"  
The question was short and sweet, and his voice wasn't quite as intimidated as before.  
He stood from the bench and regained his stance, making him stand out all the more in jeans and a sweater, that didn't fit the "formal" stereotype.

Kisuko's eyes glimmered and she nodded her head eager to talk to him, "I got off uff 'um yesterday!" she announced, cheerfully.

Cadensu too stood up, and she received a dirty look from the sleek haired, wine-eyed female, who then brought her own attention to Izumi, "You seem to get along with Kisuko," she mentioned, politely, then she added, "My name is Akatsuku. I hold fifth chair of PEACE.NOW. It's nice to meet you, Izumi of the Soaring Road."

Reminal was becoming somewhat uninterested in the conversation, "We're at the top. No one with regalia can expect to get away un-noticed." he explained, apathetically, before his arms folded.

Cadensu hadn't said anything.

"It's nice to meet you," Izumi responded politely, while slowly bowing his head at the girl, who he hadn't seen before.  
She, like most he knew, was beautiful. His eyes scanned the girl, but quickly found Kisuko again.

"I was talking with Cadensu before you guys showed up…and I'm not really suited for a fancy-like concert or anything. I'mma go." Although speaking to the group, he primarily looked at Kisuko, for he knew her the best.

Kisuko looked a bit triggered by his last statement, and her hands were thrown onto her undeveloped hips, "You think I'm suited for this?! I hate classical music!!" she snapped, loudly.

Reminal shot a light glare down at her, "Don't shout. It was your decision to tag along, so shut your mouth," he commanded.

She only mumbled in return.

"I wanna go with Izumi!" she declared, at random, a thought that had just appeared to her head.

Akatsuku looked down to Kisuko, eyebrows raised, "Don't be rude; Izumi, you're fine. You can watch…"

Izumi's smile lengthened by a fraction of a centimeter as he stared down at the little girl, "I don't mind if you come with me," he admitted, and then added, "Sides… it's not that I'm not suited… it's, well, that I can't still and quietly for very long. You'd get annoyed with me."  
Kisuko's eyes sparkled as he said this, "Ohmygosh! ME TOO!" she squealed, like a fan girl who found out that her and her favorite celebrity shared a horoscope.

Akatsuku looked to Reminal who had, apparently, spaced out and then she looked back at Izumi. She smiled and then shrugged her shoulders, "alright then. The orchestra's getting warmed up. We better go inside."

**If you have read this far, please leave a review. D: I'm getting low on them, and I feel as if the local fans aren't showing their appreciation very well. Thank you.  
I love you Kai, and AgitoCrazed! x**


	14. Her King

**Everyone's just so looking forward to this chapter. xD Well here it is, finally, hope you guys get a kick out of some of the comic relief. There's like, two more chapters after this one for book 2. Enjoy it, and MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**Also, stuff was cut from this chapter as well. Not the funniest part of it, but it's basically just a little more teasing between the happy couple. If you want it up, let me know. **

**I don't own the Reese's company or Twizzlers. --;;**

* * *

"I have no money. I clean your room for five dollahs." Sakanako alerted Agito, whose hand she was holding. Her eyes ventured to his and then she grinned, entertained with herself.  
The gaze that was returned was not quite as entertained, and, as a matter-of-fact, a little irritated.  
Then, he experienced a change-of-heart, and grinned back at her: a perfect sign that he was preparing an insult:

"I should've known coming here meant _**I **_pay. You're a terrible date, Freshmeat." It was more of a tease than an actual insult, and he released her hands as punishment for the stupid comment.  
After a moment of browsing through his pockets, his hand emerged from their depths carrying two 1000 yen bills.

He jabbed it at her, insisting that she purchase snacks, because he had bad experiences with merchants and food, "Here, fatass. Get the food." he directed, gripping her hips and pushing her, gently, towards the candy-counter.  
He stopped her affront the glass display case, in which lay bags of gleaming candy bears and varying assortments of chocolates, "There. Eat."  
As he commented, meanly, the hands at her hips squeezed what little fat there was, to remind her of her food consumption, teasingly, but harshly, nonetheless.

Sakanako held the bills in her hands as she giggled contently, the man behind the counter staring at her expectantly, "Mean." Sakanako said bitterly, but ofcourse teasingly, the way they always played with one another.  
Then here eyes looked over the candies and then she glanced to Agito, wondering if he wanted anything in particular. Not receiving an answer, she looked back to the employee and ordered,

"A large popcorn... no, 2 large popcorns with lotsa butter… a large coke… a pack of Twizzlers, a pack of sour worms and a big pack of Reese's."  
"2794 yen." The man answered, after swiftly gathering the desired foods.  
Sakanako slid the papers towards him, and then watched Agito for the remaining 794.  
"Baby, we need more moneyyy…"  
"Because your fatass got so much food!" he sighed, pulling another 10 from his pocket.  
He shoved it onto the counter, while one hand still gripped her hip. There was another reassuring squeeze, "Candyman, give the food to her slowly. There's no guarantee she won't attack. Hurry the fuck 

up! Don't worry, I'll hold her back," he told the man behind the counter, grinning and bearing the tips of his fangs all the while. To "hold her back", his hands slid lower until the tips of his thumbs held her butt.

The candy counter man raised an eyebrow as Sakanako swayed back and forth, laughing, "Stop it, before I eat your face!" she taunted him, before rolling her eyes.  
The guy at the counter stared dully at the two as he put the food on the glass top, irritance on his face, "Um, excuse me, you're holding up the line," he mumbled, sourly.

Sakanako's hand extended for the bags of popcorn, "Agito…! Stop it, we're keeping people from their food!" she demanded, playfully, as her hand that was not trying to get the popcorn swatted one of his hands.

"Don't tell me what to do!" he persisted, grabbing the hand that merely wanted some popcorn, by its wrist. He reeled it against her stomach, and locked it there, "…and I don't mind if you eat my face…" his voice was merely a warm growl in her ear, but loud enough for the others to hear if they were paying enough attention.

Not once did his gaze meet the candy man's, and he really wasn't paying attention to the poor guy, nor the people who stood impatiently behind them.

The man behind the counter was annoyed, "Excuse me, but can you please move?" he asked them.

There were buzzing complaints from the string of people behind Agito.

Sakanako wiggled about, smiling, trying to free herself, "I'll eat it later, when I'm hungry for it," she assured him, jokingly.  
Then, a familiar face became visible.  
Spitfire's; in all its well-defined and diamond-cut features.  
He smiled wearily at the couple, concealing his feelings of jealousy. Though this had been the decision he had made, he couldn't help but wonder whether he had done the right thing or not. His carmine eyes passed over Sakanako and her new king. She was laughing… and he was grinning.

She was truly happy.  
And at that moment, he knew he had done the right thing.

"So,… it looks like you found him after all."  
Her king.

Agito grabbed the coke and shoved the candy into his jacket pocket, which left the two popcorns for her to carry, "Please tell me you're not going to see the same movie as us. No. I'm not asking. Fuck that; You're not seeing the same movie as us."

The demand ripped from his throat and rumbled in Spitfire's direction.

"Agito," Sakanako scolded lightly, before she picked up the two bags of popcorn. She smiled awkwardly at Spitfire, particularly noticing the two long, crooked scratches on his long face, "Not really sure what you mean by that, but if that's your way of saying congratulations, thanks." she told him, dismissingly.

Spitfire shook his head, "Oh, it's nothing to worry about," then he glanced to Agito, "And…well, that all depends on what chyou're going to see."

"Fuck you. Stop breathing my air and get the fuck outta my face." Agito urged, trying to dismiss Spitfire as easily as Sakanako did.  
He threw a pleading glance back at his girlfriend that clearly said, 'Can we get out of here, now?'

'_Firehead ruined this.'_ he thought, angrily complaining to Akito.  
As he waited, the hand in his pocket played with a package of Reese's, constantly weighing it and clenching it, in impatience and discomfort.

"Well, have fun," Spitfire retorted, simply, as he placed an order for chocolate covered raisins.

Sakanako lept at the chance to flee, and she yanked Agito towards the theater hall,  
"Stop breathing my air? Ouch." she echoed, smiling at the earlier said comment. "That was really mean." She sneered evilly a bit, before walking down the hall, searching for their destination.

"How do you come up with all these insults, anyways?"

Meanwhile, Akito answered the earlier thought: '_Well maybe not. She still looks happy to me, so I'm still happy too.'_ He smiled as he saw the twinkle in Sakanako's eye when she asked him her last question.

"It's all originality," he assured Sakanako, abruptly cutting off Akito's speech of happy gayness.  
He began to rant, because he was happy, ofcourse, and though he'd deny it, enjoying himself.


	15. She Never Mentions You

Sakanako buckled and tied her AT's. She was sitting on the living room's main loveseat.  
"Are you going to call Mitsuru? And Spitfire?" she asked Izumi, expectantly, as her eyes focused on only her skates. They looked up to Izumi and her expression was dull, "The match is like in…. 45 minutes, you know." then, she glanced to Agito for no apparent reason. To tell the truth, she was a bit nervous about the match, but she would never going to tell that to anyone.

"Yeah, shut up." Izumi barked at her. He was staring at his new cell phone; it's design was simple, and, frankly, a little ghetto, but he'd never owned a cellphone before, despite his age of 17, and honestly, he thought this was the coolest model in the convenience store.  
"Alright." he found Mitsuru's number and pt the phone to his ear.

While Izumi was preoccupied with the phone, Agito, who had been dazed, felt a pair of familiar green eyes observing him. He'd guessed the reason she was looking at him was because Spitfire was mentioned. If she was searching for a sign of irritation, then she had definitely found one:  
His eyebrows creased over his bright yellow optics, and his lips were twisted into an unhappy pout of some sort, "What?"

She frowned, despite the usual grin she would've normally held before, "I haven't been in a Tokyo D-class match before, and our team sucks, so uh—just wanted to know if you have any words of advice, oh great one," she explained. Her eyes sauntered over to Izumi and his cellphone as he requested Mitsuru to show up to the match, but then they became bored and looked over to Agito again,  
"I mean, if you were me you probably could care less about how strong the enemy is; but what I'm trying to say is that I'm worried about our team," she rambled, avoiding the straightforward, "I'm worried about my match".

"Don't get cocky when you're battling, sacredly-cat. I can do that, but you're too weak," he thought for a moment, searching for a few words of advice, "But don't get so scared that you forget how to fight, either. Chill the fuck out. You'll win." He was attempting to be reassuring, like a good boyfriend should, but he wasn't quite sure if he'd nailed the part.

In return, Sakanako granted him with a small smile that let him know that he had done his job and that she was satisfied, "I'll be able to get cocky sooner than you think. I'll be on your level in no time. After all, Akira Udou said you weakened in those two years without the Fang Regalia. You know, in that battle with Behemoth that happened like… a few years ago?" she reminded him.

She, ofcourse, wasn't in Tokyo to witness this miraculous victory at the time, but she had researched.  
It was becoming a talent.

"Who cares about what that asshole said? He doesn't know a fuckin' thing. You, little fish, don't have a clue about my power or how long these fangs are. You can talk shit when you actually stand a chance against me," he muttered, anger coiling and sprawling within him, concealing the reassuring tone he had attempted earlier. With this, he angled his body away from her.

"Be here quick, then. See ya," Izumi's voice advised, before he hung up on Mitsuru, and with an aggravated sigh, reluctantly browsed for Spitfire's number through the contacts stolen from Ikki's phone book.  
Upon his finding of the number, Naodan walked into the room. She perched herself on the floor, and watched as Izumi punched the "call" button with the tip of his finger.  
"Hello….uh. Hey, um,…" with the ghetto phone crammed against his ear, Izumi began his request speech.

Agito's reaction caused Sakanako's amusement with him to grow. She sneered quietly before she crossed her long legs, " I wasn't judging you or anything, I just thought Akira might know what he's talking about. There are a lot of people with their eyes on the Fang Regalia now, and there are a lot of advice columns on how to defeat you. Not sayin' that you're weak or you're going to be easy to pass, but the forums are saying that you're not as strong as you used to be," she notified him, before a hand touched his shoulder. She didn't even acknowledge Naodan.  
His shoulder brushed her hand off with a good shove, and he glowered darkly ahead of himself, '_I'll just have to remind the world who the Fang King is again…_' It was directed to Akito, because for some crack reason, he wanted to talk to him.

Naodan sighed in irritance at Sakanako, "Tsuru… I'm soooooorrrryyy," she pleaded, frustrated, as though this wasn't the first time she'd tried apologizing.

Izumi angled the phone away from them, as the babbled on.

"So at least look at me?" Nao's tiny voice persisted.

'_Once again, that's something easier said than done. But…I'm sure if we keep up with the Masses, then we can get our respect back. Or you could beat one of the stronger kings in a Parts War…'_ Akito replied, in a friendly manner, '_…I don't want us to look weak in front of our girl friend, so… maybe we should show off for her._' There was a internal giggle.

Sakanako's attention was ignited a bit by Nao's plea and she raised an eyebrow slightly, "Really. Why don't you go screw Spitfire after the match? I'm sure he'd enjoy it since you're not annoying, afterall."  
Naodan leered at Sakanako, defensively, "Maybe I would if he even talked to me! You know, he only still loves you anyway," she replied, bitterly, though acceptant of the truth.

"Alright. Thanks." And Izumi ended the call, thus interrupting the two girls, "C'mon ladies. Let's go?" he proposed, completely unaware of their fight.

Meanwhile, Agito was busy with a mental conversation:

'_**My **__girlfriend.'_ he corrected, '_and yeah. Whatever.'  
'She's my girlfriend, too.'_ Akito insisted.  
_'No. No she's not. She likes me. Not you.'_ he argued further, glaring a bit harder.  
_'You don't know that!'_ Akito.  
'_Yeah, I do. She never ever mentions you. __**Ever.**_' Agito.

There was a hesitance before his alter ego pocketed out a reasonable explanation, _'The only reason that's so is because she's upset with me because I kissed her that one time. I mean, duh! That __has__ to be it! She wouldn't go with you if she didn't love me, because together we're one person, just with 2 names. And she'd be crazy to only love you alone, because then she'd be only loving half of one person! I mean really, Agito, the only people who accept you by yourself are me, Akira, and Kogarasumaru. Girls are a different story, because they need someone who can take care of them and who really cares about their emotions, get it?' _although Akito's retort was almost rude, he wanted to get his pointed and narrow-minded personality to take in **his** view as well. He giggled a little bit, finding Agito's possessiveness cute in a naively and immature sort of way, '_Gosh, Agito. I didn't know you were so ill-informed.'_ He could feel slight tension building between the two of them as he made his point clear.

On the other hand, Sakanako completely dismissed Izumi from the conflict, "It doesn't matter who he loves! What matters is that you put a knife in my back by hooking up with him, **WHILE WE WERE TOGETHER**! If you loved him too, you should've told e before so I would've seen it coming, at least! That way, I could forgive you! But a stupid little apology like this isn't enough to regain my trust! As of today , we aren't enemies anymore, but allies. I didn't say friends, I said allies. That apology didn't earn you my trust, but it doesn't hurt m that you're trying to get it back," she rebuked, before standing up, "Yeah… let's go." She finished, in a casual manner, yet her voice was slightly tainted with irritation.

But she caught a glimpse of Agito's deep blue hair and it calmed her to the slightest degree, "Bye Agito. Love you." She goodbyed, as she bent over and kissed his forehead, where he was currently involved in a disagreement with his other side.

She could tell something was going on in there, so she really wasn't expecting him to answer her. He didn't really seem like a multi-tasker.

He could hear her, and he felt her lips brush his forehead, but didn't care to answer her. Curiousity overcame him; could she feel the incredible tension smothering the room? It was as irritating as the guy in his head was at the moment.

'_Bye __**Agito**__. Love __**you**__. Not you guys and not "Bye Akito". She's a crazy person who'd do that kind of thing; don't tell me I'm ell-informed when you're the dumbfuck who's in denial. If she was that upset over that kiss then she'd be a hypocrite; I forced myself on her too…'_ he retorted as he shifted uncomfortably in his place.

There was an opening silence, and he was going to take the opportunity to insert a 'good luck' or something to the equivalent of a farewell, but was too angry with both of those closest to him to manage the gesture.

In spite of his anger, he produced a small scoff of acknowledgement at the girl leaving.

* * *

**We're introduced to one of the many conflicts! Yay! Read and review puh-lease. :3**


	16. Epilogue: Welcome to the Rozz Empire!

"Welcome to the Rozz Empire, peons! My name is Illiphine; I'm the leader of the opposing AT team…" A small, petite frame lept down from her podium and her silver eyes glazed with determination. There was a hiccup-like laugh before she tossed one of her deep red pigtails over her right shoulder, "Don't get cocky just because you have regalia; Pride is a deadly sin, must I remind you!" she puffed out her flat chest in pride and then rolled towards the Masses and their two newly obtained colleagues.  
She wheeled on hot pink derby skates, 4 wheels on the bottom of each foot.

Sakanako was suddenly wondering why she had even begun to be intimidated by this team, and she scoffed a little too loudly.  
One of Illiphine's eyebrows twitched and she growled a little bit.

Mitsuru hadn't said much since he had arrived and apparently didn't feel like breaking the flow now, so Spitfire spoke up instead, "How old're you? You can't be over 12 years old. How'd you afford a team of Storm Riders? I must admit, I'm impressed."

Illiphine seemed offended.

"I am 14 years old, thank you very much, and how I got this team is none of your business!!" she spat at him immaturely. He silenced with a slight smile which only made her evermore agitated with him. Obviously, she was failing to be intimidating.  
She saw Sakanako check an invisible watch, and Mitsuru scratch the back of his neck.

She released a loud sigh, and then her eyes glimmered dramatically, against her approval, "We're betting our emblem," she began, but then Sakanako muttered something,

"We don't want that crap."

Illiphine's tears were fighting the brim of her eyelashes and she clenched her fists, "Rozz Empire is the regeneration of the Jeweled Crest! It was an A-rank team that was defeated by Bask, a team from Kyoto—Rozz Empire's emblem is as powerful as Behemoth's was! We're trying to get our position in A-rank back!"

One of Sakanako's eyebrows raised, "Not succeeding so much there, are you?" she tainted, meanly. She was surprised at how cruel she sounded, and she figured she had most likely caught it from Agito.

Heavy tears streamed down the 14 year old's cheeks as she growled, raged, "I'm not taking this cheap talk from you! You're just a stuck up jackass who can't skate!"

Mitsuru was feeling a slight tug of guilt in his stomach when Illiphine started crying. In response, he grabbed the sleeve of Sakanako's jacket and shook his head, "Leave her alone. I think you hit her on too much of a personal level…"

Sakanako turned her head to question his actions, but was struck speechless against his expression.  
His brass knuckles gleamed against the weak beams of sunlight.  


"Yeah, okay, Turd Eyes." she mumbled, stealing Ikki's nickname and looking away from him. She hated that authorial look.

She had never received it as a child.

Then Mitsuru looked down to meet Illiphine's gaze and he smirked,

"I'll judge if your emblem is worth **Behemoth's**."

"Hey the video's gonna be playing live online, if anyone wants to watch it," Mikan informed the house.  
Ikki's attention was taken and he stood up and followed Mikan to the laptop she had set up. There was a steaming, predictable bowl of ramen sitting soundly by the computer, and a video was playing.

The image of Illiphine crying was enlarged to fit the entire screen of the device, and Mikan rolled her eyes, "All the little kids always have to cry on live broadcast, don't they?" she complained, before loudly slurping up a yellow wig of ramen noodle.

Ikki watched it, only thinking of Kogarasumaru. He was wondering if the Masses would eventually rival his own skills, "The only reason they stand a chance is because they have the Flame King and the Cyclops there to do it for them, you know what I mean?" he said, for the heck of saying it.

"Yeah, I guess so." Mikan answered, blankly.

"They can't really beat us to the top of the tower, cuz we got a head start and everything." he continued, reassuring himself of his team's abilities.

Mikan caught it this time "You're really worried about them passing you?"

Ikki hesitated to reply, "…N-no. But if we have to tear them down, Kogarasumaru will fight for our right to the sky. We deserve it more than anyone else does."

"Heh. That sounds like you."

"What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Nothing."


	17. Authors' Notes, Updated OCs & Polls

_**NEW PICS OF THE NEWLY ADDED OCS!! LOOK AT THIS LINK!! THESE ARE THE OCS IN THE STORY!**_ : i2"DOT"photobucket"DOT"com/albums/y42/kyorawksespy/BOOK2OCs.jpg

Replace the ("DOT") with a .

Yes, there isn't Illiphine because I was too lazy to make her and she's not that important anyway. :P

* * *

**LOVE FROM JESSICA**:

It looks like you guys have made it half way through what's written! Congratulations on surviving! I'm so happy that this book is through… I hate typing these things up but I do it for you guys because I love my reviews and I love all my fans. EVEN THOUGH, I really wish more of them would review more, because I know local fans are re-reading and not reviewing, and that there are lazy people just too lazy to write me a quick review. How do I know this? Hits, my friends, hits.

So it looks like Agito and Sakanako finally got together. It was different, wasn't it? I love how they don't get together right off the bat like all mary-sues these days and that Sakanako literally dates someone else, breaks up with him, and then goes to Agito. Isn't that totally how things work out in the real world? Don't be a smartass and say no. XD Anywhoo, my favorite book is 3. You have a LOT to look forward to. There's action in the beginning, and then more internal stuff going on around the middle and end. It's fun to read, because the characters are out there having fun instead of training to get to the trophaeium (can't spell that.) and all the ranks and blah bleh bleh. I really like posting the characters more as humans, and less like AT competitors.

I'm gonna post some of the poll results up here, because we've taken polls for the local fans, so you'll get to see some funny stuff. Uh,… Yeah. I think I'm running out of things to say.

Promote! Read! Review! And Chat with me! I love you guys! Please read book 3!!

MSN: rainbow.kunoichihotmail"dot"com  
IMVU: Fish

* * *

**LOVE FROM BRITTANY**:

_Coming soon!_

* * *

**POLLS**

Best Male? (3 votes a person)  
Ikki- l l l (3)  
Agito- l l l l l l l l l (10)  
Akito- l l l (3)  
Spitfire- l l l l l l l l (8)  
Izumi- l l l l (4)  
Kazu- l l l l l l l l (8)  
Other- l (1)

Best Female? (3 votes per person)  
Ringo- l l l l l l (6)  
Mikan- l l l l l l l (7)  
Naodan- l l l l (4)  
Sakanako- l l l l l l l l l l l l (12)  
Kisuko- l l l l (4)  
Illiphine- l l l (3)  
Other- l (1)

Agito or Spitfire? (1 vote per person)  
Agito- l l l l l l l (7)  
Spitfire- l l l (3)  
Don't Care- l l (2)  
Can't decide- l (1)

Biggest Hoe? (1 vote per person)  
Simca- l l l l l l (6)  
Spitfire- l (1)  
Sakanako- l l (2)  
Akito- l l l l (4)  
Kisuko- (0)

Biggest Back Stabber? (1 vote per person)  
Naodan- l (1)  
Akito- l l l l l l l l (8)  
Agito- l (1)  
Sakanako- l (1)  
Spitfire- l l (2)

Will SakanakoxAgito last? (1 vote per person)  
Yes- l l l l l l l (7)  
No- (0) D:

Do you think Sakanako should fully forgive Naodan? (1 vote per person)  
Yes- l l l (3)  
No- l l l (3)

Do you ever wonder about Hasuei or Meneko? (1 vote per person)  
Yes- l l l l l (5)  
No- l (1)

Akito or Agito? (1 vote per person)  
Agito- l l l l l l (6)  
Akito- (0) So sad…

Would you like an alter ego? (1 vote per person)  
Yes- l (1)  
No- l (1)  
Dunno-  
Sometimes- l l l l l (5)


End file.
